


The Works of a Mother Hen

by Momma



Category: Naruto
Genre: Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/F, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Oops, Other, Sexual Assault, Sexual Slavery, Slavery, Warnings in chapters, Went from non graphic violence to junji ito levels of massacre, but Discord has spoken, do not repost to another site, implied slavery, mild non explicit gore, mild non graphic gore, sexual assault of a minor (brief and non graphic), will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:27:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 44
Words: 99,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22297045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma/pseuds/Momma
Summary: Akio is a mother at heart. That makes her more dangerous than one would think. More courageous. More protective.Certainly more vicious.Somehow, this is endearing to ninja
Relationships: Akio & ANBU, Akio & Her Horde of Children, Akio & Her Wards, Akio & Uchiha Obito, Akio & War Dogs/Ninja Dogs, Akio/Sakumo/Keiko, Sakumo/Keiko, TBD - Relationship
Comments: 958
Kudos: 1947
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Amazing OFC fanfiction, Favorite Self-Insert and OC-Centric Fanfics, Naruto - (読み返す [よみかえす]), Not to be misplaced, Precious Rare and Unique, best fic collection ever read, oc self insertSI





	1. A Mother At Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry? Not sorry, actually. I’ve been writing this while sick because I needed something to do while wallowing in misery. I’ll update something else soon. 
> 
> Also, for Fanchan on Discord. Thank you, precious darling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)

CHAPTER ONE

Seventeen, arms thick with scars and muscles, 昭雄 Akio swiped the sweat from her brow with a tired sigh. She hadn’t meant to, hmm, end up here, this way, with these kind of people, but here she was. Farming (her actual dream job, once) and taking care of the wild dogs. Wiping her brow again for good measure, she looked at the horizon. Today was the day her parents were supposed to come back. With a… potential husband. Again. That she was going to have to scare off. Again. 

Her folks were good people. They wanted the best for her… she just didn’t care to marry. Here. After missing her first chance in a stupid accident. 

Hefting her hoe once again, she went back to working the soybeans and tea bushes, gently tilling the soil. Their fields were small but prosperous - mainly because the moment she saw the rough treatment her struggling parents had been giving their plants, she had more or less taken over. Nibbling on her lunch as she took a break beneath a shade tree, Akio frowned. 

Her parents should have been back by now. 

Chomping through the last bite, she gathered her things and started for the house, no smoke or dust clouds indicating someone there or coming in. Worry settled but she pushed it down. It was only the first day of their supposed arrival. It had happened once before when she was much younger and her parents had been delayed a full day due to bandits. As they were smart enough to hire a team until they hit the edge of their property, she shouldn’t be worrying yet. As it was, it was time for afternoon chores. 

The day wore on, her frown getting deeper and her eyes kept wandering back to the path. She made an obscene amount of dog meal that she fed the dogs that roamed the farm, all of them having been dropped off at some point. She pet the shaggy head of what looked like a Great Pyrenees and scratched the chin of a possible wolf as she dished out the food into personal clay bowls, her belly unsettled as she waited. Her parents were sensible people… most of the time. This shouldn’t be any different. 

Evening chores came and night settled in quickly, the sky turning into deep velvet with diamond stars littering across the expanse. Akio did her duty to run the farm, marking a tally and keeping up with how long it had been since the crop had been planted. She hadn’t been the best at keeping up with the moon phases before and wasn’t the best now, so she made notes on previous crop through the years and did her best in yet another journal. It had been mostly successful. 

Full night brought a fire inside with the shoji opened to the early summer breeze and the dogs that liked her well enough on the engawa. The one she named Rosco was even leaned against her side, a smaller dog that looked sort of like a pug crossed with a cotton ball. Very fluffy. She was forever grooming his fur and cutting it down so the poor thing didn’t suffocate in the heat. She didn’t eat as nerves unsettled her too deeply, a terrible habit from before this whole mess. 

“Mother and Father are late,” she stated to the world at large. “I do not like this.” 

The dogs all noticed, looking at her as she looked out to the path. Sighing tiredly, she used a bowl of warm water to bathe before retiring to a night of tossing and turning. The sun rose and with it, so too, did she. It wasn’t like she could sleep anyway. Dressed for more work that day, men’s trousers and top belted firmly, she picked up her hoe once again and started out to the further fields along the path. Something churned in her belly, a type of warning she always heeded before. Something was not right. 

Nearing lunch, she paused as the horizon gave way to a single man. He was handsome, almost pretty even, and came all but barehanded. Her hackles went up and the dogs around her growled lowly. He looked like a man her mother would approve of. He looked like a simple traveler - almost. He made no sound when he walked and raised no dust. It hadn’t rained in almost a week and any civilian raised a little dust. 

This was no civilian. 

Well… if he was here, she could almost bet her parents were dead and ignored the deep pang in her chest at the thought. Lead on a wild chase for a husband for the young woman who would inherit acres of fertile land just beyond Konoha proper only to end up on the end of his knife. This was the problem most civilian people had to deal with - maladjusted socio- and psychopaths who needed a swift kick in the face and a sit down with a dog or a cat to deal with stress. What most civilians did was run screaming which would see them dead or trying to get to the Konoha Police Task Force in some context without actually knowing what they needed to say to help apprehend the asshole being the issue. 

“Worker! Where is your mistress?” 

Akio had to blink for a moment because that voice was very nice and she was going to be upset about having to cut it off. Did she want to kill someone? No. However, being somewhat sensible in the land of  _ kill or be killed _ , she wasn’t going to leave this asshole to hurt someone else. That was just rude. 

“Ah, traveler-san. Mistress is out at the moment.” The dogs around her were stealthy bastards, creeping around the man as she readied her hoe. It wasn’t ideal but it was useable. What she wouldn’t give for a proper shovel. “How may I help you?” 

The man sneered as he dismissed her and Akio did not roll her eyes, she did not, because that would be, hm, impolite. “Where is she? I need to see her today.” 

She grit her teeth a little before relaxing with a sardonic smile. “Oh. Around.” 

The pretty man sighed as if Akio was there just to inconvenience him. She was, honestly, but he didn’t know that. “Fine. I guess I’ll get rid of you and find the bitch after.” 

He turned back to her, knife at the ready only to get a face full of flung dirt. He cried out more from shock because he wasn’t expecting sense from a civilian who damn well knew better than he did from pain. The dogs immediately set upon him, the man crying out. Oh. Well. He couldn’t be more than a genin with such terrible skills. 

Bringing her hoe up and around, she cracked him in the head. Maybe she killed him, maybe not, but he wasn’t moving after that. Possibly not even before, did Rosco take out his Achilles’ tendon? What a fool. 

(Somewhere, a man sneezed as if he was being spoken of, book open to a pretty boy who was vaguely familiar in looks and personality to the one Akio just finished smashing. The bounty was quite high for a supposedly intelligent Chunin.) 

Checking him over, seeing the rise and fall of his chest, she looked the foolish man over. Well. It was time to tie him up and hinder his hands. Can’t make signs if your hands are damaged enough, can you? She reached down, grabbing his pretty kimono to drag him to the house. Rosco panted happily with bits of red splattered on his bouncy coat. The largest actual dog who she had been raising for nearly two years grabbed a big mouthful of his sleeve as if to help. Akio smiled and pet the Great Dane on the side before setting off. It took awhile and her back ached more from the awkward hunching than the dead weight of a full grown man, but she made it to her home. His head had stopped bleeding at some point and that was all that mattered. 

Shooing away some flies and one of the dogs starting to get aggressive, she tied his hands together. Weaving some thick stiff cloth between his fingers, she made it nearly impossible to move them, wrapping it all in mittens of thick winter fabric. She generously did the same for his feet and tied his legs together with a few sailor knots she remembered from that one disastrous Girl Scout meeting. After finishing that, Akio looked at the horizon, noting how much of the afternoon had been used up. There were still chores and not anyone else to do them. 

Weaving some fabric around the man’s waist, she made sure he wouldn’t be getting to his hands unless he knew autofellatio and was capable of it. That would have to do. Pushing a hand through her hair, the young woman bit her lip. She didn’t want to go into the village - common sense was severely lacking to the point of stupidity and it made her want to smack someone with a fish. She couldn’t send her dogs, either. There were no messengers here with her parents and their one retainer gone. 

Ugh. She was going to have to go into town. Kicking the downed man in the hip, she huffed. It was his fault. Bastard. She rubbed her eyes and felt her chest catch. No, she was not going to cry. She didn’t even know if he had killed her mother and father. She would not start crying now. 

Taking a deep breath, she went and got the rickshaw ready, removing the seat insert and cushions. It was one she designed early on, bamboo and light but strong wood. The seat could be removed for market day produce or left in to cart her aging parents around. Picking the man up and chucking him into the bed was easy. Getting her escort of worried, cautious dogs to stay was not. 

“I won’t be long, I assure you,” she finally muttered, picking up Rosco when he seemed to want up. He licked her jaw once and settled in her arms. “You can’t stay there. I have to draw the cart.” 

Placing him carefully in the bed of the rickshaw with the man, she watched for any aggression. Rosco was a pretty cool customer but he had taken out the man’s Achilles’ tendon just a while before. The fluffy pug just panted happily, licking at his lips and lolling his tongue. Alright, then. Placing her sandals in the bed of the cart beside Rosco, she picked up the handles and started towards the village. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t be able to update Friday like planned because I have a cake order I have to deliver. So have this now.

CHAPTER TWO 

She had found the graves of her parents. Shallow, right off the road, but it's hard to see when one was running sixty kilometers an hour. It was the buzzards and the flies that alerted her and her heart dropped right into her heels. She hadn’t been that close to them, having been heartbroken and angry for so long, but she had loved them like a cousin or close aunt and uncle. The thing that stuck out, though, was that there were only two graves. 

Where was the retainer? 

Or did one of her parents survive? 

Hope beat painfully against her ribs and she sped up a little, knowing her parents would go to the village if they had no other way. The cart was lighter somehow in her rush to the West Gate. Only, she was stopped. “Papers?” 

Akio had been to the village a grand total of four times since she was five, always with her parents, and well before she was supposed to carry her own papers. In fact, her parents probably still had her papers and there was no way she was going to rob their corpses for a piece of stupid shit like that. Huffing and ignoring how her eyes seemed ready to spill over, she grit her teeth and shook her rickshaw. “This asshole is the only reason I’m even here. My parents are likely dead on the side of the road unless one got away, and our retainer is either dead with them or elsewhere. They would have any papers.” 

The man hummed, a little pale suddenly. “And your rank?” 

“Civilian farmer.” 

There is a moment of quiet, a stillness of a startled predator. Yeah, she had a ninja-dropout or whatever in her cart - that didn’t make the guy any more special than the run of the mill civilian bandit if he didn’t use caution and common sense. They always underestimated a good hard worker and a gardening tool in the hands of someone used to cutting vegetables, not people. Rosco yapped, loud and sharp like a reprimand. Akio turned to him. 

“Do not start, mister. I know you don’t like it, but it’s bureaucracy to help the head not be overwhelmed. Military dictatorships are hard enough.” The fluff ball calmed down with her calmer, firmer tone and started gnawing on the edge of the man’s kimono. “Don’t do that. Who knows where he’s been.” 

The gate guard cleared his throat, looking at his clipboard before setting it down and looking at his partner. They both nodded and the one standing bowed. “Please, allow me to help you with your… cargo.” 

She looked at him, not impressed. “I can handle it. Just tell me where to drop him off and how to hire someone to cremate my parents. I would prefer a Uchiha; their fire techniques are superior to most anyone else and I think I can trust them not to be rude about my sudden and unwanted inheritance.” 

He backed up, hands raised with a small smile on his face. She was not fooled. “Be that as it may, having a woman cart a dead body through the streets wouldn’t be good.” 

“Good thing he isn’t dead. Yet.” 

His chest still rose and fell calmly, Rosco taking to her sandals instead of the man’s clothing. At least she liked being barefoot most of the time. She was not getting those sandals back in one piece. Sighing, she tilted her head to the gate. “Which way to the building? Or should I take him to the hospital?” 

The ninja on guard seemed perturbed and unsettled. Akio had no idea why. 

“Right this way, Farmer-san.” Akio followed. 

The way was a winding trip to the center, passing small children running rampant, vendors hawking wares and services, and mostly women out shopping and running errands. She curled her lip is disgust when one man solicited a woman who was clearly uncomfortable with his advances. She stopped, watching and waiting for someone to help. No one seemed to even notice and that just… on top of everything else, she felt wrath like flames in her breast, like an inferno in a wind tunnel. Dropping her rickshaw for a moment, she calmly stepped over to the duo. 

“What  _ are _ you doing with my girlfriend?” 

The man flinched upright from his looming position, a little too red in the face to be natural. He was drunk. It wasn’t even that late! The smell was without a doubt alcohol of some sort. Was this allowed in the village? Disgusting. Throwing a careful arm around the smaller woman, Akio pulled her closer, hand respectfully between ribs and hip. Leaning towards the drunkard, the robust woman sneered at him. 

“Buzz off, little fly. You are not wanted here.” 

The man grew belligerent, furious enough that he went puce with it. “Thash muh whore.” 

Would decking the offensive man be worth it? Would it be allowed? Was she sure she cared? Looking at the quiet, trembling woman with the straightest dark hair and deep indigo eyes, she decided that yes, it was worth it but most likely not allowed. “You have one chance. Leave or I will hurt you.” 

The man slurred something incomprehensible as he raised his own hand. Smiling at the opening, she kicked him. His knee when back and he went down with a screech of pain. Snorting at the figure as he rolled around, she let go of the woman and stepped back to bow. “Please accept my apologies for laying my hand upon you without permission. I could not stand back and watch something happen to you.” 

Standing back up, she was treated to a deep blush, indigo eyes almost teary. “Thank you so very much. I am sorry you saw me in such a state.” 

Akio smiled, soft and warm. “Don’t worry about it. You deserve to be treated like the lovely lady you are.” She looked over her shoulder at her escort, the man covering his face with a hand in exasperation. “I do have to be somewhere for a moment. Would you like to walk with me?” 

The cheeks of the pretty, pretty girl darkened into a proper blush. “Please.” 

Offering the smaller woman her arm, she lead her to the rickshaw. Folding out a small table, she helped the woman onto it. It didn’t hold much weight, just a few hundred pounds, but this woman didn’t look like she weighed more than a bushel of soybeans soaking wet. Taking back up the handles, Akio waited for her escort to gather himself. He did with a sigh, stalking off with the most troubling woman known to humanity behind him. Akio just used common sense - that made her dangerous. This time, the route seemed more streamlined, as if her escort wanted to be rid of her. 

Arriving at the main building in the village, Akio helped the pretty woman from her cart, bowing low in an European bow, lips pressed to the soft skin of the woman’s hand before walking off, hauling the deadweight on her shoulder with Rosco at her heels. She never once looked back, ready to be done with this village. If she had, she would have seen wide, bright eyes and a blush so heavy it turned even the tips of the pretty woman’s ears red. Her escort did see and took notes for himself, fighting not to flush as he realized what he was doing. Clearing his throat, he lead the way inside and up the stairs. 

“Drop him off here. The healers will tend to him and we can see about your bounty.” 

Akio blinked, stopping as she put her hands on her hips, Rosco sitting like a cotton ball between her feet. “Are you serious?” 

The man nodded and she sighed, rubbing her face. “I just want my parents taken care of. What is this shit.” 

Still, she decided to follow. Before long, wailing could be heard. It was that fake crying that she hated, the kind that grated on the ears and made you want to smack someone. It was also familiar. Too familiar. Out stripping her guide, she made it to the door to see her parents’ retainer, pristine and pretty and holding onto a bag that was full of valuables from her parents. She recognized the bracelet that fell from the lip of the bag, the sleeve of the kimono her mother favored. This woman shouldn’t have them, her mother wouldn’t have let her have it at all. The woman was little more than a maid, but she still made Akio bristle. 

Around her neck was her mother’s missing necklace, her ear full of the pretty baubles her father had bought mother. Her hair with the hairpin Akio herself had carved laboriously for months. 

“Thief.” 

The word her mouth without permission but that didn’t make it any less true. “Murderer. Thief.  _ Dumbass _ .” Each word had the woman paling. Now she knew why the man looked kind of familiar - he had to be related to this viper of a woman. “You didn’t think your dearest brother or cousin or whatever he is, could kill me too, did you?” 

She turned, all dramatics gone. Her face was cold and angry and fearful. “You.” 

“Me,” Akio replied, calm and banked with a rage that went straight from hot to freezing cold. “Nice try, by the way. Mother and Father had noticed how things went missing. The necklace around your neck, the earrings, the hairpin I carved for three months. I was wary, of course. The dogs that were vicious with you, growling and snarling. Trying to kill them when my parents didn’t get rid of them for your delicate sensibilities.” She started to stalk inside, ignoring her escort and the others in the room. “Thought you could kill us off and seize the land? How stupid do you think these people are?” 

“If you would have just  _ died _ like a good girl, I wouldn’t have had to resort to this.” 

She snorted at the thought, smiling. “The poison water? The poisoned food? The poisoned hairpins? Once I found out your mode of operations, it was easy to avoid it. It’s why I took over so much of the work in the house. You couldn’t risk poisoning the land without damaging what you wanted and the dogs were too smart to eat your shit.” 

The woman screeched suddenly, flying at her with rage and a dagger. Akio didn’t so much as flinch with the wrath of a death god under her skin, fires burning blue in her breast as she sidestepped and punched the once retainer in the face, teeth flying. Akio shook out her hand a little, indents of teeth in the knuckles. When the woman tried it again, she kicked her in the face, then the ribs, knocking the breath from her and sending her to the floor. Stepping on the wrist attached to the hand strangling the knife handle, Akio plucked it from her fingers and tossed it. 

“I hate stupid people. Currently, that is you,” she hissed, grinding her foot a little to the breathless, real wails of pain from her captive. “Fuck you.” 

There is a moment where the only sound is the woman’s sobbing wails before the room is active again. Looking at her guide, Akio saw him, once again hand over his face, sighing deeply. She shrugged when he looked, Rosco by his feet as she dealt with the woman who had… had killed her parents. For a little gain. The rage inside banked as tears welled up. 

“She killed them. For being good farmers.” 

Akio didn’t mean to, but when the first tear fell, that was it. She cried. She cried like her world was ending. Like she had lost everything. For her, she had. She had lost the only human connection in this world she had and couldn’t help the ugly, awful sobs that clogged her throat. Standing in a room of strangers and a betrayer, she mourned the two people who had loved her and only wanted her happy. 

She hadn’t deserved their love but she had held it close. Now she wouldn’t have it ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)


	3. Bounty, Baby, Fucking Ninja Paranoia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: Deliberately abandoned children/infants 
> 
> Tbh, that is most of the chapter. That and torturing Yamanaka Inomaru because it amuses me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sent home sick. Since I am not allowed back to work today, I’m going to post because if I must suffer, it should be useful.

CHAPTER THREE 

“Forgive me,” she muttered some time later, the woman identified by the guards in the room and gone and Akio there now to figure out what she was going to do. “I was planning on having that meltdown in private with my dogs.” 

The man sitting across from her chuckled easily, his partner nodding. It was well known that messy emotions were to be kept behind closed doors and otherwise forgotten. Akio was comforted by Rosco in her lap, the puffball of a dog happy to be cuddled like a teddy bear. 

“So, Hamada Akio, only child to Hamada Jugo and Hamada-nee-Kurai Haruhi. Aged seventeen, unmarried. Sole inheritor to a… quarter of the Western Wall farming district.” His brows went up, blonde ponytail bobbing. “That is a sizeable inheritance.” 

Akio shrugged, not caring. “It’s just more land to work, honestly. I may let my fields lie fallow in a clockwise circle so I can  _ rest _ at some point. F-Father and I couldn’t quite… couldn’t quite manage it ourselves, but we did alright. Now I’ll… have to, hm, hire some help.” She wiped a hand down her face, not crying, thank you very much. “I am too old for this kind of dramatic shit. I just want to cuddle my dogs and work the land. Is that too much to ask for?” 

There was a shared look as she took a fortifying breath. She was not going to cry again. Rosco shifted in her lap, her hands around him scratching through the cloud of curly fur to his delicate skin. He sighed happily as she rubbed at the base of his tail. 

“Well, that aside, what do you know of our perpetrators?” He was going through files carefully, looking over sheets placed on top. She sighed because this was going to be trying. So very trying. 

“Hana-san was hired seven months ago to help my mother in the house while I helped Father in the fields. He couldn’t keep hands because they were afraid of a little hard work. I am not.” Brushing fingers down the outside of the puffy hair adorning Rosco, she sighed. “A few weeks later, we noticed how hard it was to find things, how Mother’s things seemingly moved. I don’t wear jewelry - it’s not sensible to have something like that on a farm. My dogs started snarling at Hana-san and I paid attention. I tried to talk Mother and Father out of taking her with them to find me another prospective husband-“

_ “Another?” _

“- But was unable to do so. They were late getting back yesterday. I was concerned and went out to the fore field today. That’s where Hana-san’s relation was going to ambush me. He did not think I was the child of my parents. I admit, I do not look much like them, but I do look like my deceased grandparents. When he went to kill me, my dogs ambushed him and I hit him with the backend of my hoe.” 

There was silence for a moment, people kind of not knowing what to say and her interrogator honestly baffled. “That’s… all true.” He seemed stunned. “Have you ever gone through the Academy?” 

Meaning, did she have ninja training. “Oh, no. I saw no point in dedicating my life to being ordered around by someone who may be a few pieces short of a Go set. Brilliant war tacticians and battle masters are not always the best for a position of knowing what your civilian people need.” 

That made more than one jaw clench and she sighed. “Look, I’m not going to lie to you. Either be happy I’m being sensible or be angry that I have an actual human opinion.” 

The blonde man sighed. “You’re making this complicated.” 

Akio shrugged. “I will not lie about what I see.” 

More than one mouth opened and she deftly stared at the blonde. He looked back, his abilities mildly terrifying but no more so than knowing war would come once again. “Your opinions are very close to treason.” 

And there it was. Military dictatorships were always so hard to navigate without pissing someone off. She would not bow to their less sensible ideas, quite literally stupid rules, or ancient and defunct regulations. She wasn’t going to lie either, though. The blonde seemed to understand her or had read her mind and sat back, tired and pensive. His cohort didn’t seem to calm but took his cues from the man leading the interrogation. 

“You’re still a murder suspect, but for now, it’s just as a precaution. If you go down one floor, you’ll be able to collect the bounty on the duo. The missions office will also have a place for you to apply for a specified mission, like cremation of your parents.” Tapping his files, he stood with his cohort doing the same. Akio thought it only polite to mirror them. “Thank you for your assistance in the time of your grieving.” 

Akio bowed to them as they bowed to her. “Thank you for taking care of me. Please see the mission through.” 

Rising with a wobbly smile, she held Rosco closer. The puffy pug grunted and she loosened her grip, releasing him to the floor. He started towards the door, Akio scrambling to keep up with a belated  _ Thank You _ floating back over her shoulder. Barefoot, sandals chewed apart, she left like a whirlwind of humanity. 

The blonde groaned the moment the door closed, looking at the escort. “Are you serious? That is a civilian?” 

The man shrugged. “I would say yeah, but damn if she didn’t put a pervert in his place like a kunoichi. I’d say Inuzuka - they do have an affinity with dogs.” 

The blonde started taking notes. “I thought more Uchiha - that hair isn’t exactly common.” 

The cohort rolled his eyes. “I would half say Hyuuga with those eyes. I haven’t seen gray that light with a pupil before.” 

“Fifty on illegitimate love child.” 

The blonde looked at the instigator, clearly unamused. “Not another word, brat.” 

It did no good as the room dissolved into bets. The man sighed once again, so done with everyone. The supposed civilian had the right idea, getting the hell out of the tower. Looking over his notes and remembering what he had seen, he felt a little bad about how they had to treat the woman. She clearly was grieving her family and they had to keep an eye out for her as the mastermind. He doubted it, sincerely so after walking through her mind as lightly as he could. There hadn’t been a need for a full dive, after all. 

“So, verdict?” 

“Passing as innocent. Under surveillance for a three month period.” 

A group of three nodded, vanishing. It was time to be professional. “But, seriously, who would have an illegitimate brat and not claim them?” 

Or try to. It was going to be a long three months. 

Akio sat on a bench in shock, the amount on the paystubs in her hands more than what her family had made on the farm in five years. Hell,  _ ten years _ might not be able to cover how much she had in her hands. What did a person do with that much money? Well, the first thing she had to do was find her parents’ lawyer. If he was as corrupt as Hana had been, he would be brought up on charges. She had no time to waste on something like that. 

Only, Rosco stopped outside the red light district, ears cocking and head tilting. Without thinking, Akio tilted her head too as if she could hear what Rosco could. To her surprise, she could, the faint sound of infant wailing startling where she stood. There weren't any children here. It was worse than taboo, it was forbidden. 

“Rosco…” he seemed to get it, responding to his name by trotting off into the alley and not the main thoroughfare. She followed, heart in her throat because there were few reasons people would have children that small in a back alley and none of them were good. 

He lead her unerringly to the sound, small pink arms waving from atop a basket that had a bloodied kimono stuffed inside. Oh, that did not look good. Checking her surrounds, Akio saw no one and bared her teeth. No one wanted to help a literal infant? Fine. It was  _ hers _ now. Carefully lifting the babe, she saw that…  _ he _ was swaddled in a stained silk obi, the meters of tail trailing into the basket. She needed more hands because she was definitely keeping the babe and the kimono - one had to have evidence, afterall, but it could also be his inheritance. Blood and fluid was not  _ that _ hard to remove if one was patient. 

Opening her working top, she laid the naked babe against her chest, her work binding keeping him from proper skin-to-skin contact for the moment. After his checkup, she would see about removing them so the infant was getting proper contact. Tightening the ties to keep him safe, she knelt to gather the basket and clothing, tucking them away inside. Petting Rosco, she stood gently, making her way back to the main road. She never saw her watchers sharing glances. 

“To find the hospital,” she muttered, looking around for any signs. Which,  _ shinobi _ village, so unlikely. Ridiculous. Understandable, but also frustrating. “Now I have to flag someone down. Actually  _ talk to _ people. Ugh!” 

Rosco let out a sound that might have been a wheezy laugh and she tipped him over with her toes. His legs wiggled in the air as he tried to right himself. Ignoring his struggles, she started off back to where she came, finally flagging down a woman with four children of various ages. “Excuse me, Okaa-sama, but do you know the way to the hospital?” 

She was too harried to do more than point, calling her son back to her side before turning to haggle with the fishmonger. Akio followed the direction and saw a squat building, creamy white but without one sign showing it was anything other than an office building or apartments. Well, alright then. 

Shuffling off, she ended up in a very formal reception that didn’t inspire confidence of where she was at all. Walking up to the woman at the desk, she politely cleared her throat. “Is this the hospital?” 

The woman smiled, eyes tracking her. Oh. Shinobi? No, Kunoichi. “May I see your papers?” 

Rubbing her face, Akio sighed. “I don't have any right now. I’m supposed to be getting new papers, but it’s not for me. I found a baby.” 

Then she proceeded to open her top, the small newborn curled over her breast and sleeping. The receptionist paled minutely, mouth opening once before she composed herself. “I’ll see how quickly we can get you seen to.” 

Sighing in relief, Akio nodded before sitting in a chair, settling the basket at her feet. Rosco jumped up in the seat beside her, snuffling against her side and setting his head on the small newborn in her top. Leaning back, she waited. 

“What do you  _ mean _ she found a newborn and then took it?” 

“Well, being it was abandoned in an alley and one of our Chunin hadn’t gotten to that district yet, she now has a newborn and seems to be keen on keeping it.” 

The blonde man from before rubbed his temples, his son smirking a little off to the side. The curse of the Yamanaka bloodline - one must know all the gossip. And the completely unreal luck of one woman. Parents murdered by one of the help  _ with _ the help of said help’s cousin (relation confirmed, fucking finally), no papers, getting a massive bounty for a pair of Chunin runaways, and now…  _ this _ mess. She found an abandoned newborn! In an alley! Was her luck this bad or was it just that good? He didn’t know! 

“Where did she even find a newborn? It’s not that common here!” Exasperation filled his shriveled soul. 

“In the… hm, Red Light District, sir. The rules and regulations for newborns was followed when an... official clan is the sire. Well, damn.” 

Covering his face, Yamanaka Inomaru, current head of the Yamanaka Clan, sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)


	4. Baby, Boobs, Boy, Broken Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: animal suffering, abandoned animals, mentions of severe neglect and possible abuse to an animal, premeditated animal death to the benefit of the animal
> 
> NGL, I made myself cry a little with this one. It's so hard having to deal with an animal suffering. Before anyone says anything, understand this: I actually am a Farmer. I have had to do Hard Things for the benefit of an animal that I am not proud of. It doesn't leave you and it hurts every time, but I will do it if it means that poor innocent animal stops suffering. Gangrene is insidious and if you do not catch it in time? It's the worst. I've seen what it can and does do. It's up there with rabies, in my opinion. An animal cannot tell you what's wrong like a human and often it will steal a life before someone can find that cause, especially with how fast it can move. 
> 
> Just be aware that this isn't the whole chapter, but it is a significant personality trait. It will make a recurrence at some point and it will be no less terrible then than it is now. If I lose readers over this, that's okay. I understand how hard this is to handle. It's not glorious, or funny, or sweet. It is something that is going to be addressed not just once, but several times.

CHAPTER FOUR

It didn’t take long for her to be called back, Akio stepping from a business reception straight into a busy hospital hallway, more than one nurse forcibly carting around shinobi and a few civilians talking with healers. Most of the shinobi seemed to be too tired to fight back, probably because they had already taxed themselves to the max. Sighing as she was led to a small curtained corner, she looked at the actual nurse and not basic healer. 

“How do I adopt an abandoned newborn?” 

The nurse startled, looking up for a moment. She let her brow raise as the man seemed to sweat at being put on the spot. “I will… have to get back to you on that…” 

“Hamada Akio, sensei.” 

“Hamada-san, then. Where is the… newborn?” 

Did no one realize that the lump in her top was a baby or was it that people automatically assumed her breasts were that large? Shrugging out of her top, she loosened the tie with one hand as she cradled the baby with her other. The cloth came down, her wrapped breasts shielding modesty that she didn’t much care for. They were there for a reason, she refused to be ashamed of her body. Sighing a little, she pushed the fabric back to reveal a sleeping face, dark hair on a tiny head in wispy curls. The nurse held out his hands and she let him handle the baby. 

He was deft and gentle, quick enough to keep the baby warm but also slow enough to not rattle the poor boy. As he was doing this, Akio was releasing her bindings, unwinding them and folding the cloth. It could be a good sling but there was a high chance it would ruin the fabric. On a scale of Baby Care or Binding Integrity, the baby would always win out. Humming low as her breasts spilled free, she waited until the nurse turned back around with the boy. 

“Do you have nappies? I unfortunately do not and I am not sure when I will have time to come back to the village. Oh.” She blinked for a moment, absently taking the babe back and cuddling him to her chest. “I forgot my rickshaw. Hm. That’s not good.” 

She did not think of  _ why _ she forgot the rickshaw in the first place. The nurse seemed sympathetic even as he moved behind her. “Ready?”

Akio looked over her shoulder, face in a frown. “Ready for what?” 

“This.” He put his hands on her back, the feeling a sharp tingle that felt more like television static under her skin. He moved his hands up, over her shoulders, then onto her breasts in the most professional grope she had ever had in her  _ life _ . She felt her skin tighten, her breasts swell until they started to ache. Did he just…?! “All done! If you have trouble lactating properly, just come back. The service is free to all nursing mothers.” 

And that was how Akio became known for decking a nurse. 

“I am  _ so sorry _ , Hamada-san! I thought…” 

Oh, she knew what he  _ thought _ . Holding the awakened newborn to her breast, she allowed him to suckle and grunt even as a frown marred her brow. “Do not assume. Ask.” Her voice was sharp and decisive, very much like a scolding mother. “I didn’t even know what you were doing! And putting your hands on anyone, man or woman or child, without asking permission? Rude.” 

Shame-faced, Nurse Nemuri Yuuske was on the floor, all but laying down as he bowed low. “Yes, Hamada-san.” 

Rolling her eyes, she toed him with her, hm, toes. She needed new sandals. “Of course you are. Now get up. Come on. No sense in beating a dead horse.” 

He rose with a red blush and a raging black eye that was swelling. She sighed as he looked anywhere but at her. Ridiculous. “None of that. It was a mistake. One you will hopefully learn from. Now. I need nappies. I need everything, to be entirely honest, but I need those first and foremost. He will be a little pee factory in an hour or so. Please get me one, sensei?” 

The nurse ran. Very literally, he ran right off, ducking into a room at the end of the hall. Rubbing her face and ignoring her partial nudity, Akio finally got around to detaching the infant and putting him on her other breast because it felt like it was going to burst. She needed to name him, too. “How about Akira, hm? Hamada Akira.” 

Rosco chose that moment to show up in the arms of a child. He was sad looking, all dark eyes and limp hair and bruises. She moved before she noticed, pulling the boy into her side and curling a hand through his hair. His face was against her side, Rosco between them. “Oh, precious, what happened.” She didn’t expect anything to be said and was unsurprised when he kept quiet. He didn’t even blush, just hung limp in her light hold. She combed his hair like she would Rosco and he seemed to sigh and lean into her more. She didn’t smile so much as give approval for the contact with a tilt of lips. “Hmm. Would you like to come to my house? I know you don’t know me, but I think you need a break and Rosco doesn’t pick just anyone to cuddle up with.” 

Verbal communication seemed beyond him and Akio let it go. He was probably traumatized. Ninja were fucking shit at giving mental and emotional support. It’s one reason why she avoided the village - she wanted to adopt all of them. 

Just then, the poor nurse reappeared, eye looking better. In his hands were stacks of nappies and swaddling blankets. Akio accepted them gratefully as she held both infant and child to her sides. The nurse seemed lost as to where the new child came from until he got a good look. 

She shrugged at his raised brow, carding her fingers deeper into the hair until she could scratch the boy’s scalp. He all but melted against her. The nurse went wide-eyed, biting his lip as a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. He dashed away and Akio ignored him. 

“Ah, seems like Akira is done.” Releasing the boy, she scooped the newborn up and over her shoulder, burping him. There was a bit of spit up that made her cringe but otherwise, he seemed happy and sleepy. Laying him out on the bed, she pulled out a nappy and pins and clothed the baby, swaddling him afterwards. After all that, she finally shrugged her working top back on, sighing about milky spots. 

“I don’t know you.” 

She turned to the boy, letting her brow go up. “And I don’t know you. That’s okay, sometimes it makes it easier.” Adjusting the baby on her chest, she started wrapping her breast binding into a sling to keep him there. “Sometimes, we need a little down time with people who don’t know us from a tree in the ground. Or just good, fuzzy companionship. Rosco certainly has taken to you. The last person to come near me like that, he took out his tendons.” 

The boy chuckled, scratching Rosco under his chin. “Alright.” 

Running fingers through the boy’s hair, she didn’t think before kissing him on top of the head, walking from the hospital with arms ladened with nappies and swaddling. By the time she got them to the rickshaw, she was aching again in such a strange and uncomfortable way, her breasts feeling like overflowing water balloons. At this rate, she could feed three or four children no problem. 

That was not a challenge, universe. 

“So, how you gonna move this?” 

Akio shrugged. “I usually just tote it, but now I have a newborn strapped to my front. This could shake him terribly.” 

The boy shrugged as he took her usual place after she put her bags of infant items down. Rosco hopped right up to the bed, laying down with a happy pant. Leading the way, she started out of the village with a little nudging from the youth behind her, sighing when Rosco went off the cart and down a side street. 

The boy goggled at her when she groaned in protest. Loudly. “Rosco. Rosco, no.” 

Should she follow her dog companion? Yes. Did she want to? Not at this moment. She sighed, checked Akira, then went after her dog. Her new… uh, hmm, little brother parked the rickshaw and jogged after them. By the time he had caught up, Akio stood with a box of puppies. The mother was cold and wheezing, sickly. She was dying from what looked to be blood poisoning as bracken, dull colored blood and pus spilled from a long gash on her back leg that was blue from the gash all the way up her torso. Gangrene. Poison the puppies were sitting in as they whimpered and cried. 

Akio wondered where an Inuzuka was but realized that this was normal residential housing and not ninja housing; they would honestly have no reason to be there at all unless their significant other was a civilian. She looked around and found a small crate even she could lift with a babe strapped to her chest. Pouring out the glass bottles as gently as she could, she broke open a stack of papers, lining the crate before lifting the pups by their scruffs into the crate one at a time. The boy watched, eyes hooded and face blank. 

Once finished, she looked at him. “Come on, sweetie, help me lift them. I don’t want to wake the baby.” 

Instead of just helping, the child lifted the crate gently all by himself. “What about the mother?” 

Taking a deep breath, Akio pulled a small food knife from her pocket. Kneeling by the suffering dog as she shook and cried, she looked her in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, momma. I am so, so sorry. I don’t think you can heal from this.” She carefully didn’t remember having to do this before, for almost the same reason. Sometimes memories could hurt just as badly decades later as they did the moment it happened. That one was one of them. “It’s in your blood and in your organs.” There would be so much damage. How had she made it so long? “We can’t amputate, now. It’s gotten too far. I can… I can end it. I promise, it will only hurt for a minute, but it won’t be pleasant. I’m so sorry.” 

The boy looked struck. He looked sick. Akio carefully didn’t look away from the dam. “I will raise your pups. I will help them and teach them. But I… I can’t help you. You’re too far gone now.” Gang green was insidious and vicious and the fact the mother dog was still alive was a miracle. A show of just how stubborn she was. “Do you want me to do what I can?” 

Before this world, before this life, this kind of thing like asking a dog permission would be considered stupid. In this world, in this life, things were not as they seemed. Holding eyes that didn’t look like a dog, that looked feral like a wolf but twice as intelligent, the dam nodded slowly. Akio closed her eyes and wept a little inside, putting her hand on the dam’s head. She didn’t say a word as she took her knife and ran it quick and sharp over the neck. It took a moment before the dam didn’t move again and she felt sick. 

But, to be fair, it was a blade or long hours and days of pain so thick and plentiful that death was a respite. Helping to end the pain was the kindest thing she could do. 

_ This _ was another reason as to why she never wanted to come to the village. Casual cruelty was something she despised. When ending a life was the kinder option, something was very  _ wrong.  _

Standing, hands trembling as she cleaned her knife on her leg, she looked at the boy. “Come on. We can’t help her now and her pups need to be cleaned and fed.” 

It was a solemn duo that finally left the village, Rosco sniffing over the puppies and licking the few little heads he could reach. On the way back, Akira awoke, hungry and wet. Akio changed him and then opened her top to allow her new son to feed, watching as he grunted and suckled and the ache in her breasts lessened enough that the pain wasn’t quite as severe. It still hurt, but now she wasn’t fit to burst. 

Walking past where her parents had been, she bowed to the churned earth that was now empty and resolved to make a shrine to her parents on the edge of their- _ her _ property. By the time they made it to her house, it was well into the night and she was exhausted. Between the emotional upheaval of her parents, the backstabbing, the baby, the kid, and the puppies and their once dam, she was ready to sleep until she was dead. Akira made a mess of those plans, waking with a cranky yowl to be changed and fed. 

“Ah, yes. Sleepless nights for the next few months, here I come,” she stated calmly. Her younger companion cackled to himself as he grabbed the bags and crate from the rickshaw with ease. “Come on, then. I’ll show you to your room if you want. I’ll be sharing my futon with Akira and puppies for the foreseeable future.” 

With that, she showed him how to hold an infant, wash and feed small puppies, and cook rice. By the time they were done defleaing the pups and had taken care of Akira a second time since arriving, it was late and Akio ended up in a mound of pillows, dogs, puppies, and one very small newborn. 

She was going to be so exhausted.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, still sick. It's miserable. I'm going to the doctor at some point to figure out why I have a fever this high.
> 
> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)


	5. Soft Things - Filler Feels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just Akio being a mother/big sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have bumper chapters. I don't know what to do with them so you're getting them one day at a time. 
> 
> Also. Having strep sucks.

CHAPTER FIVE 

Morning came with a deep wail of a baby. It also came with a flurry of curses in a young voice and yapping dogs that shouldn’t be capable of yapping at all. Even as tired and worn out as she was, Akio laughed and laughed and laughed. Changing her new son and pushing his face to her breast, she counted the hours since he last woke. Four hours. It was unusual for a newborn but not unheard of. 

“Alright, alright. Enough of that,” she tutted her sleepover buddy. He gave a grumpy glare that she ignored, walking to the small kitchen. 

She had designed it when she was nine and her parents, building this house at the time, had wanted her a part of the process. This was her contribution, a lot of things folded into a limited space for prepping, canning, and cooking. She almost forgot the tragedy of the day before as she opened her mouth to call to her mother. She felt her chest tighten but ignored the painful reminder that only she lived there now. She didn’t have time, what with a new baby and a little brother figure. 

Rice and pickles were set out, daikon chief among them followed by cucumber and squash. They were all done by her, so she knew that come this harvest, she would be fine to do the work again. She hadn’t bought any fish, too dazed and then bombarded by such random events to remember something so mundane. 

Hmm. She remembered talks of cattle. She could, potentially, move them from fallow field to fallow field. With a child to raise now, she would have to be careful how she worked, too. Akio groaned at the thought of hiring on hands after the utter fiasco the last one had been. Traumatic drama. Why was greed such a thing, again? 

“Looks like I will have to hire out. I sincerely do not want to,” she mumbled into her bite of rice, chasing it with a bit of pickled beet. 

“Oh? What’s wrong with hiring help?” 

She looked at the boy, raising her brow. “The last bit of hired help turned out to be one of a duo of serial killers. Who, the day before yesterday, murdered my parents, rifled through their belongings and dead bodies, and tried to kill me so they could claim the farm.” 

He went a little pale at that and Akio pet his hair. “It’s not your fault, kiddo. We’re civilians, we don’t count as much as ninja do yet we’re more essential to the livelihood of the village.” 

They chewed a while in silence before the boy paused. “How? I mean,” he backtracked and she glanced at him, amused. “We protect the village and bring in contracts and money.” 

“Of course you do. Assassinations are pricey business, after all. But think about it: where do you get clothing, food, and supplies for shelter?” 

He became pensive, lips pursing. They finished their meals in silence and she even got the dishes done before Akira wailed in hunger. Goodness, he reminded her of her younger brother. She missed him but there was no time to be melancholic. She had a baby to change, feed, and settle in a basket. 

Her clothes basket to be exact, dumping the laundry on the futon she had left out. A few firm zabuton stacked inside with a swath of cotton made a good bed and carrier. Tucking the loose ends of the cotton in and angling the zabuton while stacking, she was able to keep the babe mostly upright. He slept deeply once she finished, little huffing snores leaving cupid bow lips. Her guest giggled a little at that, starting to perk up. 

She smiled to herself, sliding her arm through the straps of the basket and grabbing some nappies to place on top. A moment of thought had her pulling out an oiled bag for soiled nappies. She was the food, of course, so no need for bottles, formula, or distilled water. Checking the puppies one last time, she picked up her hoe, leftovers from breakfast, and her water tin. It was a task in and of itself and she juggled a few things until she could easily hold her new son and her necessities. 

“Where are you goin’?” 

The boy seemed curious and a bit confused. Leaning over when she got to his side, she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I am still a farmer, mourning or not. I have things that must be tended and animals that must be seen to. There are many things I  _ must _ do, even when I do not  _ want _ to.” 

“Then, can I come?” He looked so hopeful and Akio melted a little. It wouldn’t hurt to teach the boy a few simple things. It might even help deal with stress. 

“Of course, pup. Come on, grab a hoe. We can start in the nearest fields today - I need to keep an eye on the puppies.” 

He did so eagerly, producing a canteen for himself as well. Smiling at him, kissing his crown once again, she set off to the soy field behind the house. It took ten minutes of walking to reach it, Akio setting her son under a tree with a small pack of dogs that did little more than lift their heads and thump their tails. Reaching down to scratch the one she had named Romeo on the head, the woman adjusted her breasts as they swayed. 

Oh, she had tried a binding, for all of seventeen seconds before foregoing the torture device and just settling for letting them roam free. She hoped her young companion wouldn’t be embarrassed by the milky residue she knew would be there soon. Grimacing at the reason as to  _ why _ , she left her food beside the basket and adjusted the hat she wore. It was time to work. 

By the time Akira wailed in hunger, she had finished the first and second row, looking at the boy who had copied her after only a few moments. He had made good headway but was still less than halfway up his second row. She had been doing this for more than a decade and didn’t expect the same proficiency from someone else, especially a new one who was so young. And he was young. If he was more than seven or eight, she would eat her hat. 

“Come on, sweeting. It’s time for rest.” 

He didn’t drop the hoe where he stood, but it looked close. He seemed shocked to see how late in the day it was, staring around at the fields with a perplexed wonder. Covering a smile with her fingers, she walked calmly to the wailing infant, picking him up as he whimpered. She had him changed and to her breast before the boy sidled up beside her. He seemed interested in what she was doing with the babe and she allowed him to see. 

“See how he suckles? It’s why women have breasts. We feed the young.” 

The boy hums, poking one fleshy baby cheek. “He’s so small.” 

Smiling, Akio passed a hand through his curls. “Of course he is. So were you, once.” 

He made a face, indignant that she would dare call him small. “I was  _ not. _ ” 

She laughed, full and warm. He didn’t seem to like that and huffed with a pout. His arms crossed over his chest as he hunched down, the picture of How Dare You. She pressed her free hand to her mouth to muffle her mirth, eyes bright. “Let’s agree to disagree, yes?” 

He didn’t say anything to that and she looked at the babe, popping him off her breast to a loud and cranky protest. Swapping him over, she took a moment to drink some water. She wasn’t hungry just yet, but she would be very soon. 

“We’ll break after you finish your last row. I’ll have to think of what I’m going to do about hands because this isn’t going to cut it. You’re good, pup, but these fields are going to need some full time help.” Help that she sure as hell was not going to have in her house. She had learned her lesson well enough. “Guess it’s time I build that bunkhouse I’ve made plans for.” 

She had done that… years ago, actually. When she and her parents had two small tea trees and one field of soybeans. When her father taught her arithmetic and the very basics of hiragana and katakana. Kanji was something of a pipe dream without formal education. Seeing as she refused to go to the Academy… 

“Plans? Can I see?” The boy looked at her, curious but also kind of excited. Like a dog being excited for someone coming up to the door and not knowing who they were. It was cute and Akio had to dial back her adoring coo to a small hum of amusement. 

“Of course, pup. Finish your row, there isn’t much time until lunch.” She would probably feel bad about that, not doing it herself, but she was getting sore from the weight of milk in her breasts and the deep strain it was causing her body. Most women who wanted this must lead a life of leisure to even  _ consider _ the very idea. 

Eyeing the rows - four rows, each about fifty meters long in the small field - she calculated that she would need a workforce of about four, one for every two fields. She would be capable of more had she not also had the house chores and the dogs to take care of. She could take all day to properly care for the house because there were some repairs she had left until her, well. Until now. The roof needed new thatching in one corner, one of the tatami was past due for replacement, and she needed to air all the futons before it rained sometime soon. Laundry was definitely piling up, too. 

Feeling the odd sensation of the baby letting her nipple go, she brought him to her shoulder and burped him. She was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t any spit up this time, his tummy seeming to settle. Tying her worktop back together, she stood with the babe. He seemed more aware now, trying to stay awake for a moment. Cooing at him, she watched the boy in the field gently turn the soil for each plant, taking care not to damage the beans or stalk. In another month or so, she wouldn’t be doing much soil turning as the plants flourished with rain. Then it would be checking for parasites and insects 

Tired just from the thought, she rubbed a hand down her face while keeping the other across the small back of her tiny son. 

Soon, the boy was finished and bounding to her side, eyes alight with accomplishment. Ruffling his hair, she had him pack the hoes up and opened her bento. Settling in with her newborn in the twine of her legs, she patted the ground beside her. He plopped like the gangly little beast he was, all energy and no grace. Handing him an onigiri with tomato and sesame seeds, she took the teriyaki and poppyseed for herself. 

They ate as the sun blared out overhead, Akira eventually tuckering himself out. The dogs wove in and out of the trio, most going straight to the babe to scent him. Some rubbed over the older child, knocking into the boy like siblings shoulder checking each other. Taking the second teriyaki and poppyseed onigiri, Akio offered him the rest of her meal. He took it gladly, finishing too fast. 

“Come. There is more food at the house.” 

He eagerly jumped up, having to be called back for the hoes and canteens. Tucking Akira into the bassinet-like basket, she tucked it close to her side as they walked to the house. Smiling to herself, she wondered what changes this would bring. Even alone - ignoring the deep, sharp, rending pang that thought brought - she was gathering interesting people to her side. Mussing the black curls of the boy, she hauled him close to kiss the top of his head. 

Sure, she was lonely but for now she had a brother and a son to care for. That was all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)


	6. Of an Uncle, Misogynists, and a Lawyer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Misogyny in this chapter, but Akio is fast to smack it the fuck back down.

CHAPTER SIX 

The next four days went by in idyllic calm. They rose with the sun, worked the fields until midday, ate, and then did chores. The sixth day of his stay had someone she didn’t know on her doorstep, eyes a dark gray, hair in the same kind of wild, spiky curls that resisted all efforts of taming. Akira was grunting and suckling at her breast like the little piglet he was, her top open. The man went red immediately, turning around. 

“Uncle?” 

That was her sweet boy, her little brother in all but blood. He came up beside her and she leaned over to kiss his curls. “Hey, pup. Did you finish the field?” 

He immediately turned to Akio, eyes nearly glowing. “I did! And I didn’t turn one plant over!” 

Brushing her hand through his curls, she pulled him in to hug. “Good boy, pup. You’ve done so much for me and I am very thankful.” 

He shrugged, going red even as he scratched his cheek. “I-it was nothing. You have a baby now, it’s only right that I help.” 

“Brat, that’s not it at all. You did this because you wanted to. So, thank you. I am grateful.” 

He made a noise somewhere between a hum and a whine, a little happy grimace on his lips. Pressing another kiss to his brow, she pushed him towards the man who was studiously turned away. “I believe he’s here for you. Take your adorable uncle home, pup. My door will always be open, okay? Any time, any day, for any reason.” 

He smiled, a thousand suns in one face. “Thanks, Nee-chan! Bye bye, Akira-chan! Let your mama sleep, okay?” 

The man turned, as if expecting her to have stopped feeding her babe to save his sensibilities. He went red again but she waved it away. “Take care of my little brother, please. I would very much dislike finding him with… such injuries for no reason.” 

“Nee-chan!” 

She looked at him and the boy calmed immediately with the grace to look sheepish. The man beside him looked at the mottle of healing bruises over his young face, across his clavicle and forearms. Even his shins had bruises that disappeared into his shorts. He looked back at her, blush almost gone with the quiet anger in his aura. He understood exactly what she meant. 

“I shall endeavor that this does not happen again. Thank you, Okaa-san, for taking care of my nephew.” He bowed low and pretty. Almost as pretty as the navy kimono he wore, black reeds painted on the hem. 

Akio cleared her throat, waving that away too. “It was nothing. But if he ever needs a place to stay, he is  _ always _ welcome here.” 

The man nodded after he stood back up, looking at his nephew. The boy was full of life, cheeks rosy and eyes glittering with good humor. A small dog waddled after him, an older dam, fur going gray at her muzzle and in a line down her brown back. She huffed after him easily despite her age and gave the older man a stern look. 

Putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, he steered him away from the house. It didn’t take long before the two were walking away, the dam following between them. Akio felt her heart break a little but she also felt a smile lit her face up. At least her little brother had someone. Switching Akira around, she sighed. She would actually  _ have _ to hire someone now. Her pup had been a good boy to help her so much when she could not do the work. She had tried the second day and it had been like someone had punched her in her breasts. Repeatedly. 

“I  _ have _ to go into town now.” She looked at the pack of dogs laying on her lawn and porch. “I do not want to.” 

Bosco, a giant fluffy monstrosity that was even fluffier than Rosco (and why they had matching names) boofed. Sighing at the calm, solid dog, she curled her hand through his fur as he slumped against her hip. “Want to come with me, big guy? Rosco might not want to since I’m not taking the rickshaw. He would have to actually walk.” 

The dog seemed to sigh, happy and content. Scratching his head, Akio was equally content to wait for Akira to finish his meal. She hadn’t expected this when she went into the village, but somehow she was more content than ever before. Even feeling a little lonely with her pup gone, she was happy enough. 

High whimpers and whines had her looking down. The crate of pups she rescued were now healthy and curious enough to wander, the diverse litter definitely not her usual stock of drop offs. For one, they had an interesting habit of jumping far too high for their age. For two, they had started  _ walking up her walls. _ That had been a… discovery. 

“Mato, Carrot, Radish, Cabbage, what are you doing?” Four of the nine puppies swarmed her legs, the others on their way. Despite the coloring, all of them had wolf-like bodies and defined lupine heads, most of them already showing how big they were going to be. Eggy, Broccoli, Pepper, Pumpkin, and Cucumber did make it over to tumble around, yapping at each other while rubbing against her legs hard enough to make her resettle. 

Yes the names were odd. She had run out of ideas four dogs after Sportacus. 

“Go or stay, I’m going to the village. Again.” Pepper yapped, Mato sitting down for a proper howl. Between the two, the whole pack was going in a matter of moments. It got loud and Akira started shrieking his disagreement even more loudly. 

Patting the wailing infant until he quieted, she rubbed his back, soothing him. She sighed as the day became significantly more stressful at realizing what this meant. 

“No rickshaw for now, then,” she sighed. Oh well. Adapt. Overcome. 

She had this. 

Making her way up to the West Gate, she did have it up until she forgot her lack of papers. That didn’t stop the gate guard from handing them over when she stepped up. 

“Hey! It’s the scary civilian! We have your papers and the kiddo’s. Don’t forget to cash out your bounties this time, alright? The banks get anxious when you don’t.” 

Smiling, even laughing a little at the man’s antics, she took care to check over the sling she had made from a massive strip of cotton. Her mothe-  _ she _ had bolts of it to make summer yukata from, but seeing as she rarely wore yukata, she thought this was a better use than letting it go to the moths. Papers folded up and put in the flat leather purse tucked in with Akira along with her paystubs, she made her way to the first bank she saw, a smaller civilian friendly bank with calm colors and indoor plants. 

Stepping to the first free counter, she dug out the stubs and handed them over. The smiling woman went a little pale. “I’m sorry, Hamada-san. You will have to cash these with the shinobi banks. We do not have that amount here.” 

Sighing, Akio supposed they wouldn’t, even if the one guy behind the potted plant was anything but inconspicuous. It paid to have a guard readily available. “Thank you…” she checked the clerk’s name, “Yuzu-san.” 

Taking her stubs back and tucking them away again, she left the poor woman. The trek for the next bank began and somehow she lost Bosco to the crowds. Shrugging because he would find his way again eventually, she looked at the ugly building boasting it being a ninja friendly bank. Did it really have to be all stone and mortar? That seemed counter productive to being inconspicuous. Grimacing, she went on, going towards the center of the village and to a small out of the way banker, the hanging tile small but clean and the thin building shooting up like a tiny wizard’s tower tucked against larger shopping businesses. There was even a small balcony and two additional windows. Satisfied with the general secrecy behind the small building, Akio went in. 

There was a line of shinobi in fatigues, her dull and dusty working clothes and baby making her stick out. She shrugged to herself - she was not a shinobi but she had shinobi paystubs. It was unfortunate that she was in their coveted space. 

When the line eventually got to her, she handed over the papers to the bored man who had rolled his eyes at her. He straightened after verifying the stubs, blinking at her in incredulous curiosity. She shrugged. 

“He thought I was stupid. So did she. I proved that I was not.” He snorted, shaking his head as he gathered her payment and tucked it into an envelope. She waved at him. “Not all in one. Break it up into four. No need to advertise wealth I can’t properly defend. Smallest amount to easily gather supplies should be the one I keep out. I need some set aside for a mildly ambitious building project. The rest will have to be put away at some point.” 

He nodded and did so, efficient with his time. The ninja behind her seemed to murmur like little school children and she rolled her eyes. It was not that impressive. Common sense. That was all it was. Taking both envelopes with hiragana, katakana, and kanji on them to make sure she could read - how thoughtful, she needed to remember and bring him something good to eat for being so sweet - she tucked the others in the bottom of her purse before tucking it away entirely. Pushing the envelope with the building funds into the wrap with Akira, she held the one for the supplies in her hand. 

“Thank you, shinobi-san! Have a good day. Excuse me, please.” 

She was out and about after that in no time at all, sightseeing as much as shopping. Akira needed clothing so he could lay on the floor without catching a chill. She needed ingredients for tatami. And to make a house from scratch. One with plumbing and bunk beds she would be making herself. 

Hardware stores didn’t seem to exactly  _ exist _ yet and Akio was, hm, put out sounded right. The first place, a smithy, tried to sell her brittle nails and substandard hammers. Her droll, unimpressed stare seemed to unsettle the man. “Your wares are disgusting shit and you should be ashamed. I will be finding me another smithy, one with integrity and workmanship worth my money and investment.” 

The next smithy, harder to find but largely frequented by ninja, seemed hesitant to sale to her. Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, she let out a huff. “I am building a  _ house _ to live in, not a spirit-bedamned village of my own. Can I buy a hammer worth the coin or not?” 

She could. The man still seemed unsure, but after she absently checked balance, hefted it, and deftly smacked a nail back in place along the doorway, he seemed less likely to try and stalk her over his pride and joy. “Good workmanship. Handles well and easily so I don’t have to extend my wrist,” she complimented, looking at the leather tool belts with loops for hammers. “I’ll take a belt as well. Loops on both sides.” 

The man rang her up with a certain glee after that, handing her the bag with a flourish. She smiled. “Tell the tanner that I like his belt. The leather is exceptional and supple and it doesn’t seem like it will stretch and snap. I give a month of hard work before I can say how well it holds up.” 

“Of course,” the smith muttered, bowing her from the shop. She buckled on the belt, slung her hammer in a loop, and took off for the lumber yard. There were four in Konohagakure - not surprising with the amount of natural materials available. They sent out from all over, mainly places like Sunagakure and Kumogakure, so the lumber had to be up to specs. 

She thought. 

“This is all the available lumber you have? This piddly shit?” It was weathered, thin in places and thick in others. Grimacing as she took a board and not only bent it but broke it from the sun damage, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The man across the yard startled at the sound and looked at her. She tossed the pieces at the proprietor. “Either burn it or advertise it as kindling. This has no place in a house.” 

The man from across the yard approached while the salesman gaped, jowls hanging obscenely. Turning from the proprietor to the fellow shopper, she raised a brow. 

“You seem knowledgeable… for a woman.” 

Oh, he did not just. “And you seem a little more stupid for a man. I was going to help you, but that’s not happening now.” 

He gaped, just as unattractive and fish-like as the proprietor, and she turned and walked away. Disgusted, frustrated, she didn’t watch her surroundings and bumped into a kid. One that, once she looked, was familiar. “Pup, how are you.” 

It wasn’t a question or demand but a simple greeting that stated she knew him and didn’t expect anything in return. He smiled like the sun, face and neck clear of bruising. He was practically bouncing. “Uncle is going to teach me all the cool things!” 

Chuckling warmly, she steered them out of traffic. “Is that so. Go on, then. I haven’t finished shopping and your uncle deserves you to  _ be on time, _ pup.” 

He saluted smartly before running off, bouncing into the crowd with nary a stutter in his step. Good boy, she thought, continuing on her way. The next lumberyard was little more than massive logs from fallen trees. The man who owned it wouldn’t even let her in the door. Fine. She was a woman who knew her wood, like Hell she would let them keep her from her self-imposed mission. 

“Hanahaki Woods,” she read carefully, the kanji above the hiragana and katakana catching her off guard. It wasn’t like she could read it, but it looked familiar after being exposed to it two days out of a week. She went in and breathed deep, the vast warehouse full of pine and cedar. Red-pink eastern cedar, not orange western cedar. The wood itself was well kept under the massive peaked roof, lifted off the ground to prevent rot and insects. She hummed, the sound echoing a bit. She pulled out her plans, looking at what her father had written. 

Her heart constricted at the site of his familiar scrawl, but she guessed it hadn’t settled that her parents were really gone yet. 

Then Akira yowled, awoken with hunger and a wet nappie. Finding a place to change him was easy enough, stretching out a clean cloth between him and the wood, swaddling released, and then a quick change. Wet nappie in a plastic sack, she put it in her tool belt where one would keep nails and then continued looking around. The proprietor eventually appeared, a little mussed with finger combed hair. He was elderly, hair to his waist and going white, and very traditional looking. He also looked tired. 

“Ah, yes. Sorry, I was unavailable, Okaa-san.” 

She grinned at him, situating Akira so he could feed comfortably in his sling. “No worries. I was just looking. The grain of wood is very nice, all in the correct direction for building, and out of the elements. I have dimensions for a house that I’m having built - F-Father specified what he wanted and I’m here to get it started.” 

Presenting the plans, she showed the man what she had drawn out and the dimensions her father had helpfully written down. He hummed, tapping the papers. “This is very nice, open and warm. You seem to be anticipating a lot of people?” 

She shrugged. “We are farmers. We need to bring in more hands to work, especially since Father and I cannot. Breastfeeding and doing heavy chores is not feasible. I tried.” 

The man grimaced a little at her candor but nodded. It did make sense like so much did not. Ninjas ruined people’s minds, she swore it did. “Who are you going to have do the chimney? I do not know if Asuna-san can provide these kind of bricks.” 

Not knowing an Asuna but definitely looking for bricks, she hummed. “I haven’t decided yet. I’m willing to use a smaller company, of course, but it’s made this way specifically so there will be heat  _ and  _ inset ovens. The workers will need something easy after a long day and I need it to be quick.” 

They went back and forth, him throwing names she didn’t know and her scuttling around a straight answer until she saw the grade of the wares available. Iron nails were a commodity often only available to ninja, she was informed. Rolling her eyes at the absurdity, she resolved to ask her younger brother if he knew of someone. 

“You see what I want. When can it be delivered? I would like to get it started before the midsummer heat - that is a cruelty not even a ninja should endure.” Ugh. Midsummer heat. Hot enough that even the rain felt more like boiled water than precipitation. No one liked it. 

The proprietor nodded, looking up as if thinking. His eyes jumped along with someone and she resisted rolling her own. Her watchers were not subtle. Rosco had them pegged before she left the gates last time and there was very little cover to keep a ninja of any caliber hidden where she lived. Camping in one of the ten trees on the property must not have been fun for them. 

“We shall see.” The old man smiled. Then he stated his price. Oh hell no. Glaring at him, Akio haggled him down to half that to the proprietor’s frustration. “You’re stealing it from my hands.” 

“You’re lucky I was willing to even talk with those figures. Do we have a deal?” He grumbled, holding his hand out. She looked at him. “A signed document that is to be turned in to the bank with a full receipt.” 

He almost grinned. “You’re too damnably smart for a woman. I haven’t had ninja as canny as you.” 

For a woman. That stupid phrase. Like a man was any better than she was. Deep breaths. Do not lose your temper. “Good. I’ll just have one of those ninja you keep staring at witness, yeh?” 

The man startled, Akio rolling her eyes. She was going to notice when he kept tracking them. Duh. “You’re sharp! I guess one of them will do. Come on down, Shinobi-san!” 

One flickered into view, full hood and no skin whatsoever showing. Smart of them. Then, between the old man who wanted to haggle again and Akio who wanted this damn well done, they wrote up the forms, the shinobi read it off (and even once reprimanded the old man for throwing in a clause that would cost her an additional 20% financial loss in labor that she did not remember being a part of any of it), and they signed with the shinobi pressing a finger wreathed in fire to the edge. 

“Thank you, Boar-san,” she murmured with a small bow. “I am not that well versed in kanji. It’s not taught to peasants, you know?” Chuckling a bit, she took a copy of the contract with her, folding it into her flat purse that wasn’t so flat anymore. She definitely needed to get to a bank. See with who her parents financed. Oh. And the lawyer. She had been so bamboozled and distraught last time… 

Well, so little had gotten done. “Ah, Boar-san. Can you direct me to my lawyer? I don’t know who held our confidence and trust, but I suppose it would be good to get that in hand today since I’m here.” 

The man, clearly so, nodded and started in the direction of the western district, stopping in at a law firm that was simply Kaede & Sons. Looking at the well maintained sign, she adjusted her son on her chest and went inside. 

“Ah, welcome, welcome! Okaa-san, What brings you here today?” The man was bent with age, face in a jovial smile that looked forced and comical. Akio was wary instantly. 

“I am Hamada Akio, daughter of the late-“

The man’s face fell. “I know who you are. Come in.” 

Oh no. This wasn’t going to be good at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG)


	7. Not As Dire As It Seems; Bosco Did It; She's a Bully and She Doesn't Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on chapter 15 rn, so my buffer chapters are going to run out soon. Oops.
> 
> .
> 
> ALSO: Thank you for all those wonderful well wishes. My antibiotic has kicked in and I am feeling less like death. It's still no fun being back at work, but I gotta eat at some point and my check is going to be Very Small this coming week, so every penny counts until three weeks after. Like, less than $100 after being out so much and THEN having to pay insurance and for medication out of my paltry savings. Then I get to play catch-up with bills. 
> 
> It's great being an adult (lies, all lies).

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Hamada-san,” started the old man as he settled into his seat, “I wasn’t expecting to see you for at least a dozen years.” 

Akio nodded. “I wasn’t expecting to see you for longer. I was not… anticipating meeting you.” She did not allow her lip more than a bare tremble before she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. “I do not know their Last Will and Testament, though Father and I were talking about expanding the farm and branching out. He wanted to bring in Wagyu 和牛 from Iron Country to alternate the fallow fields with soy. There was some noise about hemp but I do not know how to properly farm that and I do not want to bring in outside help that I am incapable of keeping in hand.” 

The old man gave her a shrewd stare before a smile curved his lined face. “Your father always said you had a good head on your shoulders. We have had failsafes put in place for this very happenstance. Your father liked to be on top of things.” 

Oh.  _ Oh. _ Oh, her father was a clever, good man. Tears tickled her eyes and she had to gently wipe her face. “So I don’t have to fight you just to keep their legacy?” 

The old man sighed, his face dropping. “No. Not I. Your uncle in Iron will be the biggest problem. You’re not married and he is not half so progressive as your father is. Was.” Akio sighed, patting Akira as she settled back to think. It took her a moment to realize the older man was staring at her small bundle. “What have you there, Hamada-san?” 

She smiled a bit, pulling the cotton back to show the small arm of her son. “I found a babe. I decided that if no one else wanted him, I did. This is Hamada Akira, my heir.” 

The old man went absolutely jovial at that announcement, all but leaping from his chair. “Ah HA!” 

His shout had a small wail responding in kind and he covered his mouth in surprise. Akio chuckled as she pulled her small son from the sling, laying him over her shoulder and patting his bare back. He whimpered before dark blue eyes opened, blinking at the unfocused world around him. Moments later, he was sucking on his fist like any healthy babe would. “Elder-sensei, this is Akira. He is but a week old.” 

Their talk of inheritance diverted for a while to children (and grandchildren) before they were able to get back on track. Somewhere in there, the old man realized Akio didn’t know his name and introduced himself as Takamata Kaede, named for his father as first born. Akio confessed that she was hoping to name a child after her own father one day, which eventually led back to the will. 

“Your uncle is the problem, here. We can postpone the news of your father’s demise only so long before he knows for certain. He knew your father was hunting a husband for you, so that will give you some time. A year. Two, if you are very careful. I don’t know what you want to do in that time, but it will have to be big.” 

She frowned as she caressed her son’s soft fingers. “I didn’t even know I had an uncle in Iron. I will proceed with building the worker’s quarters. I need to buy some Wagyu - get them here before this uncle I never heard of gets wind of anything. Is there a way to buy some head through a smaller company and have them shipped here? Not many, I don’t have enough for that, but maybe eighteen? Three bulls, fifteen heifers. Keep the three small herds separate so I can keep my bloodlines clean.” 

Unknown to her, the old man smiled wider and wider, lips going sharp over blunted teeth. His old friend was right to keep his only daughter as the inheritor, husband or no. Sure, the bastard Hamada Eiji wanted to take everything from his brother, had been the force that made his brother pick up everything and move to Konoha, but if he thought he would just take from this woman, this force of nature, he was wrong. While he had no wish to see the man or have him trying to fight this young woman, he would enjoy watching her rip the fool down with calm, fierce logic and a protective streak a mile wide. 

“Done,” Kaede said, looking through his papers for the funds available to the fam—to this young woman. “I can have them through the Akimichi. I have a drinking buddy who would be kind enough to front the purchase and, with the Akimichi name, they’ll send the cattle more efficiently than they would for, forgive me, a no name peasant.” 

Akio waved her hand. “It’s the truth. But are you sure he would be fine with that?” 

“Oh, he’d think it great fun. Chosu-kun would love to pull one over on some idiot.” He leaned on his desk and wrote out an itemized list. “He’s a great prankster - so smooth that people never do consider him.” 

Smiling at Kaede, Akio nodded. She had some idea of what she wanted to happen and what needed to happen. “Last thing. I need construction workers who can handle taking instructions from a woman about how to do their damned job.” 

Kaeded laughed and laughed and laughed. 

Stepping out of the office, Akio was greeted with three sheepish ninja in black tact suits and white porcelain armor. She was also greeted with Bosco, two toddlers, an actual infant in a little basket not unlike the one she had been carrying Akira around in, and… four, nine,  _ fifteen _ puppies and two dams. She covered her face. “Bosco, you are  _ grounded _ .” 

He didn’t even seem sorry. 

Instead of saying anything, one ninja held out papers. Papers that only needed a name for three children. She gave them a droll stare. Okay, so she had a thing where she adopted everyone. That did not make her predictable. 

It did not. 

Taking the papers, she shook them at the nin. “I don’t care if you’re keeping tabs on me, you are helping me shop for and then get these children to my house. Then you get the dubious pleasure of telling Kaeda-san about all this. After a meal. That’s only fair since I doubt you have really eaten anything resembling food in the last week. Come on, come on, no time to dawdle.” 

Checking the sleeping infant, she guessed he was at least two or three weeks old. His cheeks were chubby and he seemed well fed, just abandoned. The only little girl was maybe two, eyes bright blue, no pupil, hair as dark as her own. The oldest was a boy of maybe five, lilac eyes, black hair as straight as a ruler. He also didn’t have pupils. She knew he had to be Hyuuga but only as a bastard. She knew well enough what that clan had a habit of doing and frowned. Like hell. Actually… the girl could be his sister. They shared enough physical markers that she could pull it off. 

“Hello, Handsome-kun. I am Hamada Akio. Would you like to come home with me?” He was so solemn and she knew she had to help. Whatever shape that help took depended on him. “I will not take you without your permission, do you understand? This is your choice.” 

He seemed to look deeply into her, peering further than skin could cover. He looked at his… sister. It had to be, the way he cuddled her closer, his eyes on the basket. Oh. “Let me guess, your papa loves your mama, but because she isn’t a Hyuuga, she isn’t good enough for their stupidity?” 

He looked startled, darting his gaze to her, the surprised ninja, then back to her. She smiled. “It’s not that hard to guess. You’re very brave coming to someone you don’t know.” He frowned and she nodded. “You are. It’s hard going for help. It’s harder going to someone you don’t know. I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Including getting you out of this village and to the farm. Not all Hyuuga are without honor but the ones that are the worst are the elders. Set in their ways, they are.” 

That got a brief smile even as one of the ninjas sucked in a breath. Ignoring them, she held out her hand. “I’m not wealthy. I have limits that you will not understand. But I will take care of you to the best of my abilities. When you need help, I will do what I can. If I cannot, I will find someone who can and will.” 

He didn’t smile. But he did take her hand. 

Somehow, Akio was now a mother of four. And had even more dogs. Tired, she laid in her bed and fed both infants, one on each breast. The oldest boy watched in curiosity and intrigue. She smiled at him. It was something that all children seemed to be interested in. The girl was curled up beside her, puppies around her. 

She still didn’t have any workers for the fields. Damnation. 

Stroking her hands down the two infants’ backs, she admired the onesies on both. With their hair this dark, they could have been twins. The three week old wasn’t much larger than the one week and they had similar sloping noses. Her first boy was of lighter skin, the three she had now steadily having darker skin with the three week old almost dark enough to make her think Kumo. 

“We never did speak of names,” she murmured. The boy perked up a moment, head tilting. “I need them for the papers. I have to have them by tomorrow, but they are  _ your _ names. You deserve to tell me what you are named or would prefer to be called.” 

He nodded, putting his hands on his knees. He bowed. “I am Kurosaki-Hyuuga 千尋 Chihiro. My sister is 愛子 Himiko. My brother is 半蔵 Hanzō. We are forever in your debt.” 

That was oddly appropriate. “Can you write, Chihiro-kun?” He shook his head and she sighed. “You will learn. Now, get the papers, a brush, and an ink stone. I need to make this official before someone gets it in their head to be stupid.” 

The boy gave the smallest tilt of his lips before going to do as asked, searching her desk gently for what he needed. Moments later, she handed him one of the babes just long enough to allow her the joy of writing in kanji with the help of one of her watchers. 

Did she forget to mention that she had bullied them inside with her and the children? Oops. The dogs, even Balto the wolf-dog, allowed them near her, so they were fine. Ninjas in her house. What was the world coming to. 

“There. All done. Tomorrow, I do need to gather workers. Either old hands or ones that I can train from scratch. The fields need tending and when the Wagyu get here, I will have to shuffle three herds, three separate barns, and at least four hands to each herd as they grow.” Taking her baby back, he went right back to suckling and she ignored the looks from one of her watchers. It didn’t bother her at all that they watched, to be perfectly honest. It was a fact of life and only prudes dictated that women had no rights to her body or her own life. “If I could get away with just adopting all the orphans and training them up, I would. I don’t know how well that would go over, though. I refuse to put you, Chihiro-kun, or any of my other children in danger.” 

Settling back on her cushions, the infants grunted and pulled a little harder. She winced, the sensation making her feel tender. Her new little boy leaned forward. “What did they do?” 

“They pulled too hard. I am very tender and sensitive right now because I did not birth Akira-chan. I didn’t have months to get used to the pressure and I was induced into lactation. It’s cheaper and better for the babies, but I was not expecting it and the clothes I have are not… kind to me right now.” 

She let the boy feel her sleeve, a small grimace on his face. “That is rough.” He said it in the same tone one would that shit stinks. “Why not wear other things?” 

She shrugged. “I struggle with yukata on my own. Or anything, really. Mother was always caring for things and I always helped Father. It didn’t seem practical to ask my mother to stop what she was doing to help me when I needed to be in the fields anyway.” 

The look on his face shifted, eyes going wide for a moment. Smiling a little, she waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she proposed something. “How about this: I am going again into the village tomorrow. Why not help me dress? You can pick what I wear and I will trust you to not make it impossible to feed the babes.” 

His entire face lit up with glee and Akio felt very proud of herself. 


	8. She Tries To Get Shit Done, But Really, Murphy Says No

CHAPTER EIGHT 

When she had to get dressed the next morning, she didn’t feel half as much pride. She was tired and cranky on the best mornings and now she was allowing her new son to dress her from the ground up. She had to forgo panties, donning a fundoshi instead, and had him pick through the literal stacks of clothes she had from her mother. Kimono wrapped in tissue, yukata folded with papers, silk embroidered and beaded obi rolled with linen. She had no idea what to do with any of it. Her newest little boy definitely did. 

Getting the undergarments on didn’t take too much time and any wraps were forgone with the need to breastfeed two growing infants. He folded the inner layer with care so that it didn’t damage the outer layer, and then stood back. 

“Move like you’re going to feed Hanzō or Akira, please, oba-chan.” She shrugged, letting the fabric split until her breasts were bare. He frowned when it made the lower half swing sideways. “That won’t do. Hold on.” 

He swung around on the stools, bouncing from one to the other as he shortened the inner layer. It laid flat after that, even when she shrugged and he nodded. Pulling the top back upright, he folded the cloth until it settled. Then he pulled out two thick strips, handwidth in size, and tucked them in against her breasts, covering the nipples. She nodded because she was going to be wearing something much nicer than her usual work clothes. 

The next layer was thinner, soft and something she wouldn’t wear if not at the insistence of her son, a sleeveless, collarless robe that was meant to be hidden. “It’s ninja grade chainmail. Sort of,” Chihiro-kun explained. “It uses your natural chakra to keep anything from being able to pierce you.” 

Over that went a kimono, the cloth soft and thin, but heavy. The sleeves were short and easy to move in, keeping out of the way when she had to reach for things. She was tucked and pinned in with the mysterious ability of an artisan by her son, his lips pursing as he had her shrug her top down again. The slips of cloth stayed but the layers folded like origami to the creases of her arms and then adjusted back to shape with little fuss. It wasn’t perfect - she was broad in the shoulders from work - but it looked nice. 

The obi itself took a while, adjustments having to be made and thinner obi having to be found. This wasn’t going to be completely formal, just very nice. Everyday kind of wear. Thankfully, she got to wear a haori over it all, loosely held in place with a tie. Her son was dismayed to find that she didn’t have many shoe options and only found her father’s geta that would fit. Her late mother had been dainty all over whereas Akio took more after her late father. There would be no tabi for this girl. 

Finally situated, she turned to a new and daunting task - how did she carry her infants. 

“How do I carry Hanzō and Akira? Where do I strap them in?” 

One of her watchers proposed an idea. “Dogs.” Which could mean anything, but when she called her rescues in, she was capable of seeing what they meant. She didn’t exactly have dog saddles or carriers or anything. Did she? 

Mysteriously enough, she did. What a mystery. Biting her lip to keep from grinning at her ninja escort, she looked at the Pack. “Alright, guys. I need you to help me. Balto, Romeo, Sportacus, and Banjo, front and center.” 

Four of her largest, strongest boys came forward. Normally, this would require a clicker and pointed fingers and treats. The thing with dogs here is that, well, they went from mildly intelligent to human adult brilliance. They weren’t exactly hard to care for or ask for assistance. 

“I have to ask your four something. I need to go back to the village - yes, I know; Bosco is also grounded, just FYI - and I need your help to escort my children. Sportacus would have Akira-chan and Hanzō-chan. You’re a big, scary looking beast, sweetie, and I need to keep my littles safe. Himiko would be with Romeo, Chihiro with Banjo, and Balto as a guard. Romeo, would you be okay with Himiko riding you? She is very small still.” 

The dogs and wolf-hybrid thought about it before nodding. Clapping her hands, Akio smiled with more teeth exposed than necessary. “Good. I’ll… um, my escort will have you suited up for the pups. Once they’re set, we can go and I can make as quick of a run as possible.” 

She hoped this would be the last time she ended up in the village for a while. She was so done walking all the way there, through the village, and back. She was tired, dammit. She just wanted to sleep. Allowing her son to style her hair while they waited, she smiled at him. 

“Want to wear some lenses? Father kept some for the field, so they’re dark enough to hide your eyes for now.” Chihiro pursed his lips but nodded, taking the circular lenses in hand when Akio produced them. She pressed a kiss to his brow, laying her cheek against his hair. “I love you, okay? So stay safe. I’d hate to have to murder someone for trying to hurt you.” 

Her son startled but she didn’t mention the flinch, instead sliding her feet into the geta. She grimaced but ignored the feeling, checking over her sons, both in little baskets on the sides of Sportacus. He looked like a Tibetan Mastiff, only with slightly shorter hair and a coat so gray, he looked blue. The massive mane particularly well known on Tibetan Mastiffs was definitely in evidence, combed back and out of his eyes. 

Romeo was sniffing over Akio, the little girl giggling as she leaned into the English mastiff, the dog unusually large for his breed. The only one larger than him was Juliette who was fat with pups, her features just as blunt but there was something else to her. On this back was a leather seat up against the shoulders and sitting where a regular harness would. A little backrest made of thick, curled leather was there to keep the toddler in place. 

Banjo was… something. Massive. He easily dwarfed all but the tallest of the dogs and was twice as thick. His fur was long down the spine and around his neck in a mane, but shortened considerably down the sides and legs. His brindle coloring of gray and black was unique among the many there. Unique enough that he stood out even in the press of bodies. He had a “saddle” too, and satchels on either side that could double in a hurry as baby carriers. Coming just to her ribs, he was big enough for her to ride if it came down to it. She wouldn’t, that might hurt him, but it was a possibility. 

Standing beside her five year old, he was a tank. She pressed fingers to her lips and wished desperately for a camera. 

And finally, there was Balto. Named because he looked just like the Balto from the animated films, but larger. Fr,  _ far _ larger. He had packs across his back as well, only his were much smaller and he looked more like a portable defense with grieves on fore and back legs and leather armor down his back and atop his head. He didn’t seem to appreciate the bit on his head, tossing a bit before settling grumpily. Akio cooed. 

She needed a camera. Like, yesterday. 

Once everyone was secured, Himiko perched on Romeo like the dainty little princess she was and both Akira and Hanzō strapped in their dog express carriers, Akio couldn’t stall any longer. Sighing, she made sure she had her purse, extra padding for her breasts, nappies, and snacks for the older children, then started for the village with her watchers in plain view. The walk was, as always, longer than necessary and she was ready to rest once at the gate. It was surprising how much energy a child took to raise. 

She was barely to the first peddlers when a shout went up and a boy snatched a woman’s shopping from her hands. She didn’t think before putting her foot out to catch the young thief, the boy going from a sprint to a flying faceplant. Standing over the boy, she swooped down and grabbed him by his ear, his breathless whine music to her ears. She was too tired to deal with shenanigans today. 

“Alright, that’s quite enough. Come on. Pick up what you dropped.” Leading him by his ear, she had the teen fetch the dropped shopping, several folded packages of cloth and some apples. Keeping a firm grip on him, she lead the teen to the woman. “Apologize for your behavior and hand her back her shopping. Now.” 

He did so with a scowl, hair a wild mess of brown spikes in uneven lengths. She supposed he was an orphan or a budding gang member. No matter, she decided she could do something with this boy. “You’re with me now, young man. Come along. I know just what to do with idle hands.” 

“You bitch,” he finally grumbled, whining when she tweaked his ear. “Ah, hey! That shit hurts!” 

“Of course it does,” she stated with all the calm of an elder sibling dealing with temper tantrums. “Pain is a fantastic attitude adjuster. Maybe if I teach you some manners you will be able to do something with your life besides rot in a cell. Now move it. I don’t have all day.” 

He tried exactly once to wrench away. Akio yanked on his ear enough to grab a handful of hair instead, exposing his neck as she bent him back. “Do not. I let your ear go so I wouldn’t rip it off by mistake. Hair, however, can take more punishment. Now, march.” 

March he did, right there with her as she stalked with predatory grace towards the center of the village. Usually using these kinds of tactics were frowned upon. Used to dealing with very hot tempers and no outlet for them, she had developed a few techniques that worked wonders. She hadn’t been kidding when she said pain was an effective teacher, only that it wasn’t her doling out the pain, just the punishment. A month of hoeing fields and learning how to care for animals went a long way of changing how a person thought and acted. 

She was met by an Uchiha Officer, the man clearly bewildered by her. She smiled and slightly bowed. “Ah, would you be so kind as to thank the Uchiha clan as a whole for cremating my parents?” Her voice only wobbled once and she smoothed it out with a slow breath. “I am eternally grateful to you and your clan for expediting their funerary care.” 

He bowed back before seeming to catch himself, looking at the teen. “Is he not that thief?” 

She shrugged. “Oh. He is. He is also going to be learning manners. I have fields that need someone to care for them.” Just then, Akira awoke, a low whimper the only sound before a deep wail left tiny lungs. This, of course, woke Hanzō and he joined in. “If you’ll excuse me. I need to take care of my babies.” 

The man was left there on the corner with a dumbfounded face, blinking at her as she directed the group to the lawyer’s building. Kaede was there, shuffling papers when she dropped in, eyeing the wailing infants and the boy who seemed to slowly be sagging into the earth itself while Akio serenely led the procession of dogs and children in through the door. Turning to the teen, she pushed him at the desk. “Sit. Do not touch one thing.” 

Miraculous miracles did exist because he did so, sighing as he slumped into the leather with the petulance of someone wronged by the world. Kaede sighed, loud and suffering. Akio ignored it as she rustled through her purse to produce the money she was going to hand over. She was tempted to give him all of it, but one envelope from what she had planned to save and the one for building materials would be best. Settling in, she had Chihiro hand her the boys so they could feed, letting her layers gather in her elbows as the babes latched on. She ignored how the boy immediately looked up as he went red. 

“Kaede-kun, I have part of the bounty here for use in your endeavors. This is the money for the building. The contract, too, though it seems clearly documented. Would you be a dear and check it over for anything? I want to be aware of any issues that may pop up. Of course,” she continued despite the lawyer-slash-family retainer sinking into his seat with each word from her mouth, “I haven’t bought everything yet. Could you get that started? If not, I’ll finish ordering it out today while in the village. Hopefully, you won't be seeing me for a few days or weeks - I do have to get the farm ready for the summer rains. I thought it was supposed to start two days ago, but the weather is holding while the air is getting harder to breathe.” 

The man sighed again, sitting up to start writing, nimble hands scrolling over parchment with a speed one would think only a young man could achieve. “Don’t worry about it. I have a team on standby for the building itself. I will add in the transportation of materials to the contract and finish drawing it up for them to sign. How quickly do you want the building to go up?” 

“Would next month be too soon?” She attempted to pull out her plans, handing them over to her curious lawyer. His eyes went wide before he started making annotations on another piece of paper. “I’ll have to purchase the furniture one at a time - I still need to factor in feed costs as well as the Wagyu and barns. We have pre-existing buildings that could easily be retrofitted into barns, so that should cut costs.” 

Kaede pulled out some sort of land map, tapping out the three that bordered the fields. She knew he had to be a smart man. “You’ll be trading them through the fallow fields, correct? That will mean you will need a barn here and here as well. Brilliant solution to fertilizing and revitalizing the fields, by the way. Have you given any thought to goats?” 

“Goodness no. I might be persuaded to sheep, but goats tend to be obnoxious at the best of times.” She plucked up a sheet and made her own notes. “Could we install a permanent bathhouse off the Naka? I know we own part of the land. Maybe build the main house there and rent out the farmhouse?” 

“Maybe in a few years. You’re still a ways off from being able to afford those amenities.” 

“How about if I add wheat, oats, and alfalfa to the rotation of soy? They could be funneled back into the livestock and sell well to others. If I get someone with enough sense to use stasis seals, I could sell all the way out to Snow.” 

The old man rubbed his bare chin. “That’s a feasible plan. If you keep the first two rotations of crops to not only feed the cattle but bolster your seed stores, you could, by the next year, have excellent crop with surplus. We have a long growing season and getting at least two if not three before the winter frost could be possible. You said stasis seals, yes? Those aren’t terribly expensive if you go through the right channels. I can get bulk discounts, too.” 

“Great. Then I can expand into a second storehouse and living quarters within the next year. I won’t be able to make any extravagant expenses, but I will be able to get the children what they need without issue at the same time.” 

“Clever use of funds, my dear. Your father would be proud. If you do that, I can move up the timeline for the bathhouse and the main house by five years. What about help? That can eat into the expense reports.” 

“I was thinking of doing an outreach program so that young men and women can learn a trade and have housing and food that is better than the streets. This young man was trying to thieve some groceries - if he doesn’t have a few children under his care, I’d be surprised. All of them would be welcome, of course.” 

“That’s ambitious. I like it! And what would be the cut off?” 

“I haven’t figured that out yet. If they want to come on permanently as farm hands or animal handlers, they would need to be at least eighteen and sign a contract.” 

“I’ll be sure to write one up for both branches. Why eighteen?” 

“By then they’ll know if they want to stay or if it’s because I’m the only one available.” 

Kaede hummed as he nodded. It would be a time where they would be getting married or getting into apprenticeships elsewhere since all apprentices had to be of age to start unless they were grandfathered in or sponsored by interested parties. Nepotism at its finest. 

“What would it cost to set up a system to teach them reading, writing, and arithmetic?” Kaede looked surprised and she shrugged. “They need to learn. I still don’t know much and it’s hindering me severely.” 

“I’ll… look into it. What do you mean you don’t know much?” 

She pushed a hand through her hair. “I know the barest basics. Father,” she had to take a breath but soldiered on. “Father didn’t have a lot of spare time and Mother didn’t know much either. I know what I need verbally, but I can only memorize so much before I start forgetting things.” 

“What an utter travesty. I’ll set my sons’ tutors on it, don’t fret. They’re getting bored anyway and need a proper challenge.” 

“Thank you for making me difficult, Kaede-kun.” 

“Any time, my dear.” 


	9. A day in the life...

CHAPTER NINE 

Unbeknownst to Akio, most of this was being reported directly to the Head of Intelligence. Said Head of Intelligence was very much done with this woman. She was clearly clever, insightful, and sensible  _ now _ but how much worse would it be if she was learned? Rubbing a hand down his face, he glared at his subordinates. Most of them tried to pretend they weren’t laughing at him but they had terrible tells. 

“See about funding that Outreach program. If it gets the civilian orphans off the streets, all the better. Can someone get me the Uchiha Clan Head? Maybe we can strike a deal. And shut up, Gorosuki, or you’ll be the one tailing her next.” 

“Sweet! Nice gig - I’m told she makes these things called  _ sandwiches _ and I’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about.” 

The Yamanaka who was cursing his birth rubbed a hand down his face. That was yet another thing to add to the ever lengthening list. An unknown uncle from Iron, nearly unknown recently deceased parents, a horde of hounds, and on and on the list went. Adopting infants and young children without even pausing. 

Who the hell did that? Kids were a terrifying menace! The younger they were, the harder it was! Constant, overwhelming care of a future human being. He shuddered before pushing away the thought. No need to bring up his own issues with his little shit of a son. Inoichi would know the horrors of children soon enough. 

“Alright, people. Look alive. She’s leaving the lawyer’s. I need eyes in the skies and feet on the ground.” 

Four ninjas vanished. 

Having finished feeding and changing both of her sons, Akio once more traversed into the village with the young man from earlier trailing along obediently. She was going to have him bring those under his care to her soon enough. Turning to her escort/watchers, she let her brow rise. 

“New ones already? My, you must have the manpower to waste.” She waved that away. “No matter. I need to take back the groceries I am unable to pack. Is there a seal or something that can be used until I get home?” 

They kind of stuttered for a moment, sharing looks before shrugging. One stepped forward, pulling out a scroll. Reaching out gently, Akio patted his arm. “Oh you poor soul. You just volunteered. Well, if you don’t mind. I am unable to manipulate chakra, so you’ll just have to help me a little more than you were expecting. Come along. If I am to make food, I will need to buy it.” 

The teen snorted, hand covering his face as he looked at the woman who had basically forced him to this point. Akio wasn’t anything special, certainly not some great beauty, but she managed. 

In and out, sometimes literally when she became disgusted with the proprietor or the selection, hunting up the fresh food stalls and butchers, Akio shopped. She wasn’t allowed in certain places, either shinobi run or just out of spite or because of her dogs. She frowned at said stores and went on, her escort getting kind of uncomfortable about how often that happened. “Deplorable behavior for the ‘nice village’ but that’s just how it is.” 

Watching her haggle for grain and flour had been amusing at one point, but then they noticed the prices, how, depending on who she had talked to before, they went up or the quality of the product presented went down. Akio was well aware of this tactic and didn’t buy into it. It infuriated more than one shop owner enough that they would try something underhanded. She knew she looked like a half-bastard, other, invader. She knew she probably came across as a woman of the Red Light District, four children who didn’t look all that much like her. Yet this was ridiculous. Ugh. She hated villages, but especially this one right now. 

“And this, children, is why I think villagers are all brain dead show monkeys.” The toddlers giggled from their seats on their dogs, Akira and Hanzō deeply asleep in time to the soft gait of their steed. The teen choked a little, covering his face again. “I guess we’re more or less done. I was hoping to get quality flour and some more eggs, but this will have to do.” 

With that, they left, Yamanaka Inomaru glad they had finally gone but deeply disturbed by his own village. Who would have thought gaining groceries for a civilian was so fraught? He had village pride that was severely dented. This meant investigating. 

It was early evening by the time they got home, the twins - Akira and Hanzō weren’t that different in age, so  _ twins _ \- waking just long enough to be changed and fed before being left to lie on a thick padding to tucker themselves out. Sportacus appointed himself as watchdog and sprawled out along their play area, keeping well back as the three week old kicked and the week old tried to lift his little head. The teenager stood awkwardly until Akio pushed him into the small building that was the size of a shed for bathing. 

“Scrub that dirt off. I’ll have some clothes waiting when you’re done.” After seeing her kindly force ANBU into helping with the shopping, he didn’t dare protest. In he went, and back to work she tottered. 

She really only had her father’s clothing for a boy that tall. He wasn’t broad, yet, but his hands spoke of height and his bones pressed to his skin showing that he wasn’t even close to how bulked up the boy would be once puberty stopped biting him in the ass. The softly worn, lovingly repaired brown yukata with golden ginkgo leaves on the hem was one of the only things her father had brought with him to Fire Country. On the back was his family crest in black, small but definitely visible on the expanse of earthy cloth. She held it to her for a moment, savoring memories of small celebrations in which he would wear this, her hands tracing the leaves on his knees as a toddler, before wiping her eyes and gathering all the matching pieces that went with it. 

Placing it at the door to the bathing shed, she started on a large, simple meal to share with everyone. Taking two loaves of bread she had baked just a few days before, she sliced thick, heavy slices to lightly toast. She needed to start a fire to properly toast them, however, sighing when the kindling refused all encouragement to ignite. 

“Damnation on a pogo stick,” she groused, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Fine. She would wait to toast her bread. Getting out eggs and cabbage, she set the eggs to gently boiling on the one electric hot plate she owned, cutting the cabbage to lightly salt and cover in the small refrigerator. Letting it set, she started prep on the thick cream, adding a bit of sugar and matcha. It quickly turned soft pastel green, the smell of sugar filling the air as the mix fluffed up. 

She was finishing the eggs, shelling them for use when her- when the teenager walked in, hair dark and heavy with lingering water and skin a deep tan. He looked a bit like a Nara, truth be told, even with his hacked at hair. Taking a few of the boiled eggs to mash, Akio smiled at him. “Feeling better?” 

He grunted an affirmative, staring at the babies as they worked out how their bodies moved on their lonesome. She rolled her eyes but went about preparing the food. 

They sat in soft silence, the babies squealing or grunting as they tried to roll over (Hanzō) or lift their head (Akira). She went back to trying to light the fire only to see that a small flame burned inside the oven. Smiling to herself, she made sure to think about making her current watchers something in thanks. Putting the toast on the flat stoneware, she got the bread started on toasting. The heat was a little stifling but it was necessary. 

Pulling back, hands rubbing on the apron she had donned, she wiped her brow then continued. It didn’t take long until the only thing left was wrapping the sandwiches, Akio cutting them in half. They were… very large sandwiches, at least four servings, so just enough for a hungry teen and more than enough for her. The extra four sandwiches and what was left of the creamy treat were for her unusual ‘guests’ despite how they seemed hesitant. 

Shooing the teen to the table and the cushions, she halved her meal with her son Chihiro and her only daughter Himiko. Himiko didn't seem that intent on the sandwich besides the boiled egg in the center. Seeing as there were two halves, this wasn’t an issue. Chihiro helped his sister eat the egg then turned to the sandwich himself, giving a surprised sound at the taste and textures. Smiling at his surprise, she peeked at her young guest and smiled when he groaned into the sandwich. 

They ate mostly in silence with Akira down for the count and Hanzō close to his own nap. After the plates were cleared and the matcha cream was eaten with serious enthusiasm all around, Akio bundled up a sleepy Himiko for bathtime. Chihiro grabbed their bathing bag, already aware of the routine, and the trio headed to the bathing shed with drying cloths and clean sleepwear. 

It didn’t take long to bathe Himiko and help Chihiro with his hair. Akio scrubbed herself, did her lengthening hair, then her few vanities. Like using cream to keep her underarms, legs, and mound free of troublesome hair. An oil to keep her hair as shiny and soft as possible. Even a bit of perfumed oils for her body. Chihiro loved the body oils and Akio helped him put some on, kissing his brow. After that, she usually soaked for a while, but Himiko was falling asleep in her towel and that just wasn’t safe. Drying and dressing her little girl, she helped Chihiro out, then did up her own nightgown, the one Western influence she refused to give up. 

After that, it was slippers to the main house, trading out for house slippers, and pulling out the futons. By this time, Akira and Hanzō were gearing up for a proper wail. Akio had them in her arms in moments after settling Himiko down and nipples in hungry, seeking mouths. Her teenage visitor was unsure of what to do. Chihiro ended up dragging him to the small sink and basin, starting water for the dishes. 

It was all very domestic though four plates with paper waste appearing on the counter gave a small lie to the scene, the paper waste soon gone in the trash. More like, she had it in her paper recycling box. 

She made a mental note to show the boys how to make seed packets for the spring. 

In no time, everyone was bedded down, the children around her and soon swarmed by the puppies coming in for the night. Polite puppies, seeing as they wiped their feet off. The dogs trundled in soon after, flopping on the porch, genkan, and around the whole room like living rugs. Chihiro was soon curled up with Banjo on him. She would say with, but that was definitely  _ on _ . He was much too large for it, of course, so it made it excessively hilarious. 

Her young guest was piled under at least four dogs of various sizes, grumbling but also pretty calm about it. Like he was used to the treatment. Her mind cast around for any rumors of an Inuzuka bastard running wild(er) in the streets of Konoha and came up empty. She didn’t hear of a Nara either, though, so there was some disconnect. Shrugging it off, she curled around Akira and Hanzō, pressing soft kisses to their brows. 

It was well past time for sleep. 


	10. Simple? Oh, No. Not At All.

CHAPTER TEN

Something woke her. 

It wasn’t either of the infants nor her children. It wasn’t the dogs. But it was a young boy. Rising from her place on the floor, futon being immediately filled with snuggling toddlers and puppies, she stepped carefully over to the boy. 

“Oh, my precious boy,” she crooned, kneeling beside him. She let her hand hover for a moment as he tossed and turned, dogs abandoning him for safer ground, when he settled, her hand fell back in her lap. She breathed deep, memories threatening to overwhelm her in the dark. 

She couldn’t let him hurt so, however, she didn’t have it in herself. Akio took a deep breath, held it, then another, voice rising in a low, slow thrum of sound. A lullaby left her lips, well worn and known so well, she didn’t even think of the words as she lulled the fraught boy back into a peaceful slumber. A tear tracked down her face, one she didn’t dare wipe or acknowledge. 

_ “And I will be here in the morning _

_ Protecting you until the morning  _

_ So sleep baby sleep  _

_ So deep baby sleep  _

_ So you can play again in the morning…” _

She awoke to a whimpering newborn and a cranky five year old poking her in the shoulder. She held out her arms from her upright position on the far wall, the only place not taken over with dogs because they knew better by now. That didn’t mean anything to the crick in her neck, though. 

Akira was handed over, the babe latching on with a ferocity. It seemed that longer hours asleep meant more pain for her as her son tugged harshly on her tit. Hanzō slept still, being just old enough that he wasn’t as needy as Akira. That would change too, Akira growing enough that he would be more interested in his own development over cuddling. Once he finished his morning feed, she bathed him in the sink and clothed him for the day. 

Taking those clothes of the young man still sleeping, she went out on the porch to shoo some of her pack out of the way and set to washing the clothes by hand. They had been soaking overnight so it wasn’t as hard as it could have been, but she ended up changing the water twice before the thick trousers and over-large shirt came out properly clean. Taking a needle and some thick thread, she set about mending the holes, trimming the hems, and cutting some cloth to widen and lengthen the legs. He was a growing boy and the fabric would just sit in storage if she didn’t do something with it. 

It took a while, the task mindless and interrupted by her son Hanzō and her daughter Himiko waking and groaning for food. Feeding Hanzō while working was easy. Feeding Himiko while trying to work was quite a bit harder and she ended up cutting fruit for the girl so the child could feed herself. Chihiro made his own breakfast of fruit and leftover rice, topping it off with the very dregs of the matcha cream. Akio hid a smile as he nibbled sleepily on the sweet treats, clearly a child with a thing for  _ sweeter the better. _

“What hit me?” Akio chuckled as the teen stumbled from his place, all but crawling out of the house and to the porch, hair standing on end and yukata near hanging from his frame. 

“Puberty,” Akio remarked, glib and stoic in the face of his distraught gaze. “Welcome to the ceremony of adulthood, celebrated by older people because now someone else has to deal with it and they do not.” 

There was a cut off laugh, like she startled someone. She smirked, working through the trousers bit by bit. He seemed to notice, blinking dumbly. “Those are mine.” 

“They are,” she stated, continuing her work while Hanzō fed. “And they’re not finished yet. I’ll be adding panels to your shirt as well - you’re going to grow out of them soon if I don’t.” 

He seemed pensive, biting his lip as he ran a hand through his hair. “Lady, you don’t have to do that kinda shi—ah, stuff.” 

She shrugged lightly with one side. “Of course not. Common human decency, however, is something I actually have.” She pondered that for a second in the silence. “One of the worst oxymorons.” 

The teen snorted the cup of water, choking his lungs clear. “Holy sh- _ crap. _ That’s hilarious.” 

“Of course. Just like common sense and humans as  _ the _ apex predator.” There was more than one snort of surprised amusement. “Humanity has forgotten that until very recently, Yōkai and Bijū roamed the land in plenty - both intelligent, powerful, dangerous beings of power and ability beyond what we humans can do.” 

There is silence and she blinks after a moment, looking up at the boy. He’s gobsmacked, eyes on her. “Holy shit.” It’s said low and with feeling. “How do you know that?” 

Akio shrugged. “Father didn’t idly spend our hours in the field. He told me as much as he could remember from growing up and why the Land of Iron doesn’t put much stock in using chakra as much as everyone else.” She fluffed out the trousers in her hands, satisfied with the stitching. She wasn’t a seamstress but doing repairs on almost everything she got her hands on had helped make the lines straight and small. “Try them on, please. I’m not the best so I need to make sure these have a bit of room to grow with you.” 

He did, standing as she checked the waistline. The band was getting on but did she want to replace it or cover it up? Maybe line the top? Hmm. “Not terrible, at least. Take them off. I need to pipe the top and string them again. I’ll start on your shirt afterwards.” 

He did, sitting as she worked. When his belly roared for food, she pointed him to the kitchen, directing him from sound more than sight. By the time she had the piping cut and started to stitch it, he was walking back with leftover rice, fruit, and her guilty pleasure of chocolate kisses she had made. He swooned a little when he took one into his mouth. Laughing at him, she continued her work as the infants flailed on their mat and the dogs prowled. Chihiro had taken Himiko to the yard, the two playing little games and keeping busy as the day ran on. 

There was a break for snacks and feeding the twins, both sleeping deeply afterwards in a pile of puppies and protective dogs. Akio was almost finished with the trousers and thought of how she was going to do the shirt. It was a cross-tie too, easily something anyone would have. It was significantly worse off, the shoulder seams pulling away from threadbare fabric with holes rubbed in the elbows. The best option would be giving him one her own work tops, possibly piping the neck and adding some length to the sleeves. Maybe adding in a dart mid back so he could stretch and not rip it down the back seam. 

“If you want to bring your herd here, you would be welcome to. The only thing I ask is that you help with the crops and harvest.” 

The boy seemed stunned, looking at her with wide, mystified eyes. “Seriously, you’re a little much, but alright.” 

Akio laughed and handed him the finished trousers as she started lunch. She couldn’t help herself. He needed help. She could help. 

It was so simple. 

Even if she was letting a worker slip through her fingers. Dammit. 

This simple mission was not a fucking simple mission. Yamanaka Inomaru wanted to fucking cease so he could not deal with this shit. Turns out, that boy was a Nara. Nara Mozu who had one hell of a fall out with his father about his non-clan mother. Said mother who had died of mysterious complications not even two months before. 

Rubbing his eyes, Inomaru wanted to scream and cry and just. Not do this. This was such a clusterfuck. 

“I’ll have to get back soon,” the teen stated after lunch, playing with the hem of the semi-formal yukata. “You were right about the kids.” 

Akio convinced the boy to stay until she finished modifying one of her own tops, made for her broad shoulders and heavy work. It was green to compliment the brown and black of his trousers, the black new piping on the collar standing out as she added panels and length. By the time she finished, the day was all but spent, supper and the dog’s meals made simple and filling. 

“You can stay another night,” she offered, handing the top to him. He smiled a little before shaking his head. 

“Nah. I got something to do. Kids to feed.” 

Hands cupping his face, she kissed his brow. “Be careful, little fawn. I am always here if you need some space.” 

He seemed startled, eyes going wide. Smiling, Akio just patted his wild mess of hair, running her fingers through the different lengths. Cupping his cheek one last time, she sighed as she rubbed her thumb over the high curve. “Silly boy. Now go. Gohan will see you home.” 

Said dog stepped forward, a wolfhound that was all lithe grace not unlike a deer. Wuffling, he rubbed against the teen before trotting to the path. Laughing at the twist to his day, the teen took off after the dog once he had his top and trousers on, pulling the drawstring tight as he ran. 


	11. Pup Returns, What Do You Mean 40, and Mistakes Were Made

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was a solid week before Akio had anyone out to her house that wasn’t a replacement guard/watcher. She was rolling Akira on the matted floor with gentle tugs of cotton when Sportacus, primary guardian over the twins, lifted his big blocky head. She looked off in the same direction, keeping a hand on Hanzō as he rolled by himself. Both babes went still like she did, attuned to their guardian and mother. It took a moment, but a figure resolved in the distance. It was moving fast enough to rule out civilian immediately. 

Chihiro and Himiko were soon by her side, ushered in by Romeo. Banjo followed, settling himself between the humans and the interloper. Standing tall, she stepped around Banjo with a hand on his ruff. 

The figure resolved itself as a familiar child, his mouth stretched wide in a smile. Smiling back, she went to the porch, arms open. He sailed into her embrace with a wild yell, hugging her neck even as he knocked her back a step. The weight of him on her breasts was deeply unpleasant but like hell would she let go of him yet. “Hello, pup. You seem well.” 

He pulled his face from her chest, eyes covered in orange goggles and a smile wide enough to hurt on his lips. “Nee-chan!!! I’m not officially official, but I get to be on your team for building and the Wagyu that arrived today! That means I get to spend another week with you and no one can be mad about it! I heard you got more kids since Akira-chan, too! And did you get even more puppies? Since when-“ 

Akio gently pressed her finger to his lips, smiling soft and warm. What a beautiful, good boy. “Pup, I can’t answer if you don’t let me. Deep breaths.” He took a breath, closing his eyes behind his eyewear. When he opened them, they were still sparkling but much calmer. Brushing his hair back, she kissed his crown of curly spikes. “Come meet my new children.”

Little Hanzō didn’t so much as look up from gnawing on his fist, gurgling and cooing. Himiko peered out from around the dogs, fast to run up and hug Akio’s leg while looking up at the older boy. He crouched down to see her, placing his hand lightly on her head. Himiko giggled before giving him a hug. 

“I have a new niece! Yes! Girls will prevail!” her pup cheered, picking Himiko up to swing her around once. She shrieked in joy, strangling him with her tiny arms. 

“Mhm. And this is Chihiro, my eldest. He is a good child and I need to start teaching him his characters.” 

Chihiro stepped forward with a caution that was until now all but gone. Her pup set Himiko down, kneeling before the boy. He smiled and bowed to Chihiro. “Thank you for making Nee-chan smile!” Chihiro stood awkwardly as the older boy jumped up, smiling wide. “I’m going to hug you now!” 

Akio had to muffle her cackling in her sleeve. Chihiro was not appreciative of the hug and was pushing and flailing against her pup. The two disengaged when the smaller child stomped hard enough on the older boy’s foot to make him hop around on one leg. Combing his hair back into a semblance of calm and well kept, Chihiro smoothed his clothes and nonchalantly tripped her pup to face plant right into the floor with a heavy thud. 

Movement over the fields had her looking out to the road again. It was a dust cloud, one that became larger and larger as time drew on. She frowned because she didn’t think eighteen heads of cattle would produce such a dust up. 

“Pup? How many cattle are coming?” 

The eldest boy sat up from where Himiko had him pinned, catching her before she fell and frowning. “Um, forty-ish? Bulls and heifers - what  _ are _ heifers, actually?” 

“Female cows who haven’t given birth.  _ Forty? _ I asked for  _ eighteen, _ not  _ forty. _ What were they thinking!” She glared at the cloud that was approaching, arms crossed under her breasts. Forty?! Did they not think? The Akimichi didn’t even have the land space in the village for a  _ small _ herd of Wagyu and their fields outside the walls were all civilian run commercial stock crops. Their pork was imported from a farm two days civilian ride away from the village! Taking a deep breath, she tried to cool her temper. It didn’t work, but she tried. 

“I’m going to kill someone. With a wooden stir spoon.” 

The kids wisely didn’t comment and she stalked from the house, a pack of dogs following. Barefoot, in a comfortable, pretty yukata Chihiro had asked her to wear, she didn’t look menacing. Good. She wanted to scare the shit out of someone with her wrath, not her looks. 

She was ignored right up until the herd noticed the pack of wild dogs at her back, lowing with sudden fright. A sharp whistle from her had the pack breaking off to help round up the cattle before they stampeded, rounding off the young bulls from the heifers as she went right on through to the culprits. 

“Tell me,” she bit out as gently as she could, coming through the dust cloud like the wrath of an angry god. “Why do I have more than double the head of cattle I asked for? Hm? Because I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them. Slaughter them without a thought? Burn them so they may fill my fields with ash?” 

The cloud of dust parted and she was given a view of nine shinobi, one with a rickshaw that held what was obviously an Akimichi. She turned to the left, that group of three teenagers and a leader standing with hands in their pockets. Nara. All of them, Nara. She looked to the right and saw an all Uchiha squad, all adults and a little unsure of what to do with her despite being hardened killers. The rickshaw driver was a younger Akimichi, equally unsure of what to do as she looked to her elder. 

“Someone had best start talking because I want to know what you expect me to do with this many cattle. I am one woman. I do not have the hands to do the first request alone, much less now. Will you build me barns free of charge? Will you care for the livestock out of your own pocket? Will you be the ones to care for them and the fields and the children?” 

No one said a word because something seemed to click. They had royally fucked up. She knew it, they knew it, the damned  _ dogs _ knew it. The Akimichi seemed suddenly unsure and she glared at him. 

“I went through my parents’ lawyer because he is a good, trustworthy man. He has done naught but try and help. I know he said he was going through the Akimichi to buy my cattle so I could start something before my supposed uncle showed his greedy face, but if this is your doing, you should be ashamed of yourself.” She turned from them, ignoring the honestly shocked faces. “I will have to see what I can do, if I can afford to rent the plains beyond my holdings because some people don’t think about how civilians live.” 

A cranky, hungry wail split the air. “After I feed my son.” 

Honestly, Akimichi Chosu hadn’t thought much about purchasing more beef beyond having Wagyu for the clan within two years time. He hadn’t  _ thought _ was the problem. His clan was well off, did and owned so much. It took him longer than it should to realize that a single civilian farmer wouldn’t have  _ clan resources. _ At all. 

He watched her walk back to her small house with more dogs and several children including the young Uchiha kid that was all smiles and happy hugs. Her hands were gentle despite the rage still pouring off her in waves, scooping up the wailing infant and shrugging her yukata off her shoulders to feed. There was no hesitation in her about anything she did. 

He might actually come to like this strange civilian woman. 

“Well, we done fucked up  _ bad, _ ” stated a teen Nara, sighing like the world was ending. The elder Nara rubbed a hand over his brow and Chosu knew where Isamu was coming from. He wanted to rub his brow, too. The headache this was going to cause was going to be astronomical. 

“Shut up, Shegiru. I don’t even want to think about it right now.” The teen snickered, the other two teens rolling their eyes. “What’s with the Uchiha escort, though, Chosu?” 

The lead Uchiha, a woman, tattoos on her chin in script to signify she was a warrior, smiled beautifically. “Little civilian-san was able to haggle ole Shiketsu down to a reasonable price and he wanted it delivered today.” Her smile sharpened. Not at Isamu, they were drinking buddies, but definitely predatory at someone. “Heard the kid talking about his outclan  _ Nee-chan. _ Just doing the right thing, you know?” 

Checking a civilian for less than pure intentions. What a world. Realistic but still an absolute bitch to have to handle. He turned back to the woman and was suddenly aware that she had her top open with a boy in plain view. He didn’t seem to mind, looking her in the face and nodding along as she spoke. Another boy, younger and with the most Hyūga looking face he had ever seen, eyes covered in dark lenses, nodded with the other boy, both grabbing hoes and trotting out to the field just behind the house. 

After she kissed them. Doted on them with one hand combing through their hair and pressed her lips to their brows. The boys seemed to preen under her gaze, ready to work for her with but a few words. If she was a spy or a plant, she was the worst kind. 

She would make a man believe they were in love. A child would seek them for comfort. Yeah, this needed some serious looking into. 

That’s when a second wail rent the air and Chosu felt like his life slipped from his confused breathing corpse. Oh no. There were  _ two _ infants. 


	12. Murphy, Tongue in Cheek, Scolding, More Murphy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! I have a full 9.5 hour shift tomorrow and I'm helping host a four hour Girls Night In party with my sister-in-law by providing all the baked goods I am currently baking. I'm posting this early since I won't be posting tomorrow. I'm going to be too exhausted for that. 
> 
> BUT I HAVE A POLL!
> 
> http://www.strawpoll.me/19330166  
> Basically Who Doesn't Die This Time

CHAPTER TWELVE 

Akio handled Akira tenderly, watching the boys work the field but also bicker when her pup said something to make Chihiro snip at him and then return the favor. They were full of piss and vinegar and it was hilarious. Himiko leaned into her leg, sucking her thumb and petting Balto as the two went back and forth over the soybeans. It was healthy to be a little aggressive but it also showed tolerance when usually they would be brawling. Her pup wasn’t that much older than Chihiro, after all. 

When Hanzō decided he was ready for a feed too, she scooped him up a little awkwardly, but still mostly with ease. One got better with practice, of course. After having close to a solid hour to get over being angry, babies all clean and dry and full, she watched how her dogs kept the Wagyu in the open field, the animals slowly calming as they realized that her pack wasn’t going to maul them. 

“I only wanted eighteen,” she grumbled, ignoring the shinobi and the Akimichi standing awkwardly on her porch. She hadn’t invited them in. “I’m a farmer, not a be damned rancher. What am I even going to  _ do _ with  _ forty-eight _ cattle? Do I have the money to hire out? But if I did, would it… fuck, if it turned out like my parents again, only my  _ kids _ , I would loose my restraint. There wouldn’t be anything left to  _ find _ .” 

There was a shift behind her, an uneasy silence as she checked the babies one more time. Exhaustion beat at her brow already, thrumming into a low ache as she pushed through. “Himiko, my little orchid, watch your brothers for me.” 

The toddler plopped down, several dogs surging forward around the children as Akio started towards the Wagyu. The Nara contingent with the Akimichi followed. She ignored them, still furious but knew that dealing with a prey animal while high on negative emotions was usually a recipe for disaster. She did not need a stampede along with… whatever her life was now. A cosmic joke. Something. 

“Murphy, if you can hear me, please. No more. Think of the children,” she pleaded under her breath. She took a deep breath, analyzed her anger, then just… breathed it out, let it go. She had better things to do than stew like an adolescent. 

“Alright, y’all,” she all but crooned to the dogs. She pet the head of the closest for a moment. “Divide, please. Bulls to one side, heifers to the other.” She whistled, high and sharp, the dogs and wolves yipping and howling as they dove towards the cattle with glee. In moments, the bulls were milling in a pacing pattern in the further field and the heifers grazed languidly with happily panting canines around them like an honor guard. 

Coming closer, she inspected the heifers, the lead cow a bit larger than she should have been for pure Wagyu. Pursing her lips, Akio hummed noncommittal to what she was coming to realize. Iron was probably trying to get rid of what had to be mixed stock. The Akimichi were not known for their Wagyu beef recipes because of the lack of immediate availability. Thus, subpar fatty beef. She was not amused. 

“These aren’t purebred Wagyu. Beautiful though they are, they’re mixed.” She looked at the astonished Akimichi, the man starting to grow and turn red. Literally. “Not bad stock, but I’ll probably butcher the bulls this time around and search for proper Wagyu bulls further East. I’ll need to see their papers for lineage, age, and relationship. I can see at least three different lines, but that’s not promising after they sent this.” 

Her hand gestured to the bulls that look identical, down to the forehead slope and nose color. Which wouldn’t be a  _ problem _ if she didn’t suspect them to be all brothers. Ugh. She hated using proxies for her purchases. “It’s like marrying your cousin - bad business all around. Who knows what sudden mental or physical illnesses will swoop in.” 

She didn’t smirk as the entire entourage very carefully didn’t look at each other or her. It was quite considerate of her, she thought. 

Sweeping around to the lovely if large cows, she walked up to them calmly, projecting the feeling from her. It wasn’t something she could explain, it was just something she had always done with prey animals from rabbits to horses to cows large enough to qualify as a Cadillac. It worked more often than not and afforded her a kind of immunity to the stupid of most people who handled animals of any stripe. 

“Hello, darlings. Sorry for the scare. These are my Pack. You are here for general food reasons, but anyone reasonably intelligent will be bred for my fields.” Two heifers looked at her, eyes terribly self aware. They were close to each other, smaller, truer to the Wagyu beef cattle than the rest. She suspected that a good portion of the fauna was partially sentient. She couldn’t in good conscience  _ eat _ a  _ person _ regardless of looks. Not without them having died naturally first. “I see. Just you two, then?” 

She didn’t expect a response and never received one, taking the papers the younger rickshaw Akimichi held out. Ah. Yes. Four bulls, two grandparents with mixed blood, and all of them too close to even dare breed into each other. She was going to have to find a bull much further away. She guessed starting with one bull and one barn heavily remodeled wouldn’t be terrible. She could tear down the other two buildings for building materials or repurpose them. 

“Nee-chan,  _ Nee-chan _ ! We’re done!” 

A small whirlwind barreled into her side, long thin arms curling around her waist as a curly head peered up at her with glee through his orange goggles. She smiled, patting his head. “That’s perfect, pup. Why don’t you start sifting through the rice to feed…  _ all _ of us? Then you and the children can play with the dogs and pups.” 

He grinned wide, shooting off like a rocket and tackling her prim Chihiro with a yowl. The two tussled in the dirt for a moment before Chihiro tossed the pup and stood up, patting himself down and raising an even bigger dust cloud. Aiko carefully didn’t laugh. 

“As charming as all this is…” the eldest Nara slouched, shoulders hunching under her laser gaze, “I guess we can give you the final report on your new and improved herd.” The smirk she heard was loud and clear despite the blank face he presented. Damned Nara. “No problems, two heifers lead pretty easily. All are docile. Good luck.” 

He handed her a scroll that was thick and heavy, labeled  _ Yuisho _ ゆいしょ in lovely, simple characters. Good. She could hopefully read everything. “Thank you, Nara-san. I’ll see what I can do about this… quagmire of problematic quandary.” 

The man laughed and the teens tittered and snorted before all four of them started to wander off. The Akimichi duo did not and she sighed. 

“We -  _ I  _ have done you a disservice, Farmer-san.” 

She pursed her lips. “It’s Hamada. Hamada Akio. And yes, you have, Akimichi-san.” She gestured to the cattle milling around then to herself. “I am the sole adult here. My son helps where and when he can, the pup does too, and sometimes my two year old daughter helps dig up soybeans even when she shouldn’t. I have a large collection of dogs dropped off on my property that I have taken in and have been training to keep wildlife from eating my crops. I haven’t even had my workers’ quarters built because I have had to wait and wait and  _ wait _ on the red tape. Tell me, how does one woman take care of the fields, forty head of cattle, and children - two of which are still suckling - all by herself.” 

He paled, shrinking in on himself as she continued. The moment she finished, he rubbed a hand down his face, sighing dramatically. She would feel bad about causing him stress, but.  _ But.  _ He brought her double the stress. 

“Hamada-san, please, forgive my ignorance,” the big man muttered with a low bow. A type of bow she never expected being directed at  _ her _ of all people. She was a simple farmer. She didn’t expect to get respect from many. This made her uncomfortable. “What can I do as reparations for this blunder?” 

Oh boy. Shit. What did she say? She didn’t know what to ask for without it being something he couldn’t or wouldn’t do. What a blessed be  _ mess _ this was turning out to be. Seriously, she was becoming  _ stressed _ at an alarming rate. Clan shit was horrifying to navigate. She wanted out of this confrontation  _ immediately _ for the sake of her limited sanity. 

“Whatever you think is best,  _ within reason _ ,” she finally muttered, breathing deep. “I have no reason to turn any help you may provide away beyond this one significant blunder made in ignorance. Just remember that I  _ am _ a civilian and my reach is very short with those beyond the borders of my property.” 

He stood back up, face thoughtful and she felt something like live snakes writhing in her belly. Please don’t let this be another fuck up. She did not have the money to fix it. “Of course, Hamada-san. Forgive me my ignorance of this situation. If you will excuse me, I shall speak with my clan head before we proceed.” 

She felt her skin tighten around her mouth and eyes as a dull horror crashed through her body. Fuck. He was turning this into a clan matter. This would end  _ so well. _

Absolutely not, in all reality. 

She waited until he was gone, dust cloud rising only slightly because there was a ninja pulling him along and they had all kinds of tricks. Then she rubbed a hand over her face with a plaintive groan. Spirits, she hated clan politics. That’s what this was turning into, too. She just wanted to keep her family farm and maybe sell a few young bulls and cows for food in the future. Why was this turning into a clusterfuck? 

Murphy, don’t answer that. 

She turned back to the house, straightening her shoulders. Her kids needed her and she needed to speak with a bunch of shinobi that looked a hair trigger away from eviscerating someone with one wrong look. Time to get back to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have somehow deleted a comment... oops.


	13. Ninjas Don’t Do Emotions, It Gives Them Hives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akio shares a little bit about her ~~extinct~~ clan. It makes everyone very uncomfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went through... a lot of research as to what would slowly start eroding confidence in a founding clan between civilians who nearly worship them and the ninjas. Misinformation was one that stuck out the most, followed by low key espionage. Sure, it’s a fic about ninja. But it’s a fic about commerce, too. And ninja sabotaging their fellows really seems like it would seem plausible after enough oops.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

This civilian ‘Nee-chan’ was… unfortunate in that she was _interesting._ Uchiha had been compared to cats before with good reason, of course, so this grabbed the immediate and terrible attention of the group that had followed their strange little weirdo cousin. They were expecting sharp eyes and a low tolerance followed by placating gestures and a disgusting smell of chakra that stank of greed and avarice. 

They were not expecting a tall civilian woman who looked a little worn around the edges, eyes lighting up with love and joy at the sight of their cousin, nor the gentle, calm, pleasant patience she used when speaking with the boy. They also weren’t expecting to be on the periphery of a scolding. A civilian scolding a clan member. Rightly, even. That had been a shock. 

Not to mention how she smelled. Like kin but also not. Like something a lot more dangerous than she was. Like fresh churned earth and a spring drizzle. A thunderstorm lingering on the horizon. A banked campfire with a sharp smell of ozone. Like a mother. It was confusing. _She_ was confusing. 

She was _interesting…_

The Uchiha who stepped forward kept her eyes pinned on the civilian woman who was almost her height. Civilians honestly didn’t get that tall compared to clan ninjas - that this woman was almost even with her was astonishing. Sure, her cousins were taller, but that was another matter altogether. “I’m Uchiha Kotoko. This is Uchiha Kaemon and Uchiha Minoru. The mountain of humanity is Uchiha Roka. We have your delivery as well as a contract from Takamata-san to begin the build.” 

She tilted her head, not a full bow. Conscious of her audience and wary, yet she wasn’t afraid. If anything, she felt more protective than anything else. Smelled like a mother, all baby milk and infant care over top her base scent. Smelled one wrong move away from eviscerating someone in protective wrath. “A pleasure to meet you. I am Hamada Akio. Please, let us talk. I am not sure if you have seen the plans as yet and Kaede-san has sent my originals back.” 

Sharing a look with the others behind her, Uchiha Kotoko stepped into the civilian’s den. 

Akio laid out the plans on the floor in the absence of a full table. She didn’t have one, if she wanted to be honest. The woman with the chin tattoos leaned over the plans, brow furrowing. “That’s not what we received.” 

Wasn’t that just the way. Sighing, Akio held out her hand. “Well, let’s see who fucked it up.” 

One of the men barked a laugh, easily giving her the plans. They looked nothing alike. The central fire pit was entirely gone, it was made smaller by half and had no second floor at all. Fury swept through her, eyes burning with something sharp and dense. She closed them, took a deep breath. 

“If all the wood you have is to build something like that, someone has taken my money and gone against the agreement I have on paper. Someone has broken. Contract.” She had to calm down. The children didn’t need to see her losing her temper. “And if that is the case? I am going to _ruin them_ with pleasure.” 

The woman sat back with furrowed brow. “Old Shiketsu isn’t known to go back on his word. Ever. Something is going on.” She handed the scroll off to one of the men, his brows drawn down as he stared hard at Akio. She didn’t care, teeth tight as she breathed slowly. “I’ll have Kaemon-kun check it out.” 

The man bowed before regaining his feet and leaving in a messy swirl of leaves. The woman grimaced and Akio would have but for the need to keep herself from getting up and stalking back to the village so she could break some heads. She still wasn’t calm enough to cool off. She needed to do something. Punch something. Toss a body around. 

She settled for getting up and starting to cook, getting out things that needed to be cut. Viciously. Chopped and diced. She had to vent and her kids could not see her lose her temper over being wronged. They could not, she had to be the adult and that meant she had to keep in control. 

She was going to be cooking for a while. 

“Talk to me - what can I do with what’s available? The rains are late and that means I need to get the building up now. The Naka is going to flood and, while the inner village is safe, my crops will not be. The overhead of the employee living space will double for the crops themselves while I’m retrofitting the silos for said floods.” She pointed at her books. “It’s two years early but not completely unusual. I might have to go with rice next year depending on how the fields drain. I do not want to, I need to feed the… massive herd of animals I now own, but it is what it is.” 

The woman easily took the books, flicking her way through the pages of childish scrawl to the prettier, neater adult characters. Calligraphy was something Akio enjoyed and took joy in keeping her hands steady. “You’re handwriting is very basic?” 

She shrugged as she smashed a garlic clove with the flat of her knife. She needed two more and the crunch of the herb beneath the heel of her hand was satisfying. “I was taught what my mother could do and what my father thought I should know. It’s archaic but he didn’t think a woman should know both male and female characters.” The woman snorted, shocked as she looked over at Akio. “Oh yeah. Old Iron Country mentality. Mother beat a lot of it out of him after I was born, but my brothers, well, after they were forcibly drafted to the academy, he had to relent. By that point, however, our farm was in full swing and we just didn’t have much time.” 

The ninja seemed to turn to stone and she ignored it because it wasn’t common knowledge that, sometimes, people like Councilman Danzo stole the children of civilians from their arms for the ninja academy. Konohagakure was _better_ than other villages, but it was still a military dictatorship that demanded as much if not more from the civilians as it did the Clans. That’s why they were called _cannon fodder_ for the frontlines. 

(That’s why sometimes, Akio will press her hand to her heart, to feel their strands. She would never be able to be on the frontline. Never take a life without knowing that it would be life changing. Never get to see them again. They were stolen for more than fodder.) 

“I have never seen such recruitment,” murmured the woman, voice sharp even while quiet. Akio shrugged. 

“You wouldn’t. You’re a _Clan_ and that changes the rules. It means they have to be more careful and let some slip from their fingers.” The carrots parted with sharp thumps as she cut and chopped. “It wouldn’t do to entirely alienate an entire Clan without reason. Or an end goal that will leave the clan disgraced and broken and thus easy pickings.” 

The woman gave a sharp glance that Akio didn’t notice, stripping the leaves from the celery. “That’s treasonous thinking.” 

“That’s not the first time I’ve been told that. It doesn’t change how I think anymore than before. At least you know how I feel and will respond. I will not lie, Uchiha-chan, but I also have no interest in taking on the government as long as they don’t hurt those I claim.” 

The two men seemed to shift without moving, maybe surprised. Maybe upset. The woman frowned deeply, eyes roving over her. 

Unbeknownst to Akio, the Yamanaka assigned to her was frantically shuffling papers for siblings that she wasn’t lying about (supposedly) yet coming up blank with unusual gaps in the registration and some birth certificates that seemingly belonged to no one. 

This in turn had the ANBU assigned to her for the time being signaling the Uchiha. The woman grit her teeth as politely as possible, watching their hostess move with sharp, hurt movements. The funny thing was that she still sheltered the children, the dogs ringing the infants more alert while the older kids were all but underfoot. Even her cousin was all but pushed behind her yukata with a wall of furry bodies between them. 

“If it’s… not too terribly rude,” the Uchiha woman began. “How many brothers did you have?” 

Hamada-san hummed, turning with a small smile. “Do have, actually. I feel them, like mother felt us, and her mother before, and her mother before.” She dropped the vegetables into a tall pot to free up some room. “There are four, two sets of fraternal twins. Normal for the family. I was the only one that was a single birth. Girls always are.” 

That sounded a lot like a small civilian clan. A civilian clan that was strictly matrilineal. They had steadily died out over the decades, a dearth of sons with just as many daughters married into other clans leaving them a pittance of what they were before. The clan had been recognized for their ability to flawlessly carry offspring and combine genetics. Some had gone missing just before Orochimaru had vanished and that couldn’t mean anything good. Several were said to be mixed bloodlines and slowly losing the ability to carry twins or as many pregnancies. 

Hamada-san was the last, she was virtually unknown, and she wasn’t recognized. It was _insane_ to think about with them being Uchiha and always aware of their bastards, much less the rest of the clan. 

But… 

She was still alive. Hidden. Forgotten. Neglected from the clans and in obscurity. From all sources, she would be dead if she hadn’t been clever enough to beat the shit out of a conman and his cousin. Rumors of her intelligence were circulating like wildfire as well as her state of learning - or the lack thereof. Kotoko was starting to believe that those fanciful tales weren’t just gossip fodder. In fact, she would gamble on them being the low end of the reality. 

“That’s a terrifying ability.” 

The young woman looked over, eyes infinitely sad in a way only the most hardened of soft hearts get. “Believe me, I know.” 

“It sounds cool, though,” interjected one young voice. Their young (strange, odd) cousin peeked around her legs, chewing his lip. “I mean, it would be sad to lose your ties, but knowing they’re safe? That’s amazing.” 

Hamada-san smiled, petting his hair. “It can be. I can feel you now, too, pup. Like the fawn and my four pups here. It requires love to work, and I love you all very much.” 

Kotoko felt something in her shift, her heart suddenly pounding. Love. A power that operated on a deep and abiding love. “What… what _kind_ of love?” 

Hamada-san looked at her from the corner of her eye. “A pure love. It cannot be obsessive or deranged - it doesn’t work like that - but the love of a sibling? Of a mother to her child? And aunt to their niece or nephew? It has to be good. If it sours, if it darkens, it will cease to exist, the tie will break, and the one holding it will feel it. But, otherwise, the only way to break the bond is to break the woman’s heart so deep, it would never recover. Or for the one they love to die.” 

The matrilineal clan never once sent a woman onto the field. But there had been some, later, that had gone and visited devastating wholesale slaughter on enemies without a thought of coming back. They were few and far between, but they were there. She had a sinking feeling of what had been going on now. Of the devastation unseen and unknown that had happened to these women. Of the sudden and intense urge to go out and destroy as many as they could before their terminally broken hearts killed them in other ways. 

Kotoko never wanted that kind of bond - it sounded _terrifying._

“But enough about gloomy things. I’ll be making supper. Would you be so kind as to start on the building with the original plans?” 

Kotoko couldn’t get out of there fast enough. 


	14. Yamanaka Inomaru Needs A Vacation, Literal Felines, Sabotage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve almost caught up to my bumper chapters. That’s okay, I’m on seventeen anyway.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Yamanaka Inomaru held his head in his hands. Hands that didn’t shake because they were being put to good use holding his frontal lobe together. This entire thing was turning into a nightmare. Hamada Akio had come out of nowhere just to shake his life up and destroy his convictions and knowledge base with a quiet and unassuming air and now he was trying to put it all back together one shattered piece at a time. 

The villagers had been found to be…  _ goaded _ into being uncomfortable and quietly rude to foreigners. There was a stack of papers four fingers thick on his desk of odd and suspicious paperwork for both the academy and the ANBU forces. There was a larger stack of complaints about the village taking civilian children from their families that were silenced somehow since nothing had been resolved. The Uchiha police force knew nothing about it. The complaints went to the tower and vanished into filing cabinets to be ignored and the parents or guardians mysteriously suffering amnesia along with several key witnesses - not that everyone was ever caught and information still filtered in to him through his investigations. 

The ANBU forces were almost quadruple the size they should ever be with only the circulation animal masks accounted for and many more blank masks not. Rage trembled through him when a clan child of his own clan had been found more from a detailed description than name, a child of a diplomatic Genin who had relations outside of wedlock and no intention of marrying. She had died in a strange attack outside the village and her child scrubbed from the memories of the few that knew. 

This was not okay. 

There was something,  _ someone _ corrupt in the system. 

It was someone with political and physical prowess. It was someone it would be difficult to pin to and harder to prove. Three names circled his head but he held them in for fear of being observed even now. 

It was time he took this to the clan heads without the nosy bastard elders in attendance. Inuzuka-san would be the best bet. Very little got past a ninken dog. 

Also? Just to point out? Hamada-san’s ridiculous, horrifying, terrible kekkei genkai? Made him shiver in sheer horror. 

Taking a breath, he summoned a sparrow as he wrote a missive for the head Inuzuka bitch. Time to get back to work. 

Akio watched as the final beam for the floor was lifted in place, her arms full of nursing infants. For some reason, every attempt to help had been thwarted. Especially by her pup. He tended to gently herd her from the hard work, citing the twins might need her or that they would need  _ more food soon, nee-chan  _ with a cute smile. Absolute brat. Why did she love him again? 

(It was the dimples. That was her excuse.)

Seeing the Uchiha smack and bludgeon the posts with their bare hands was a treat, anyway. Their use of fire justu was lovely to behold, especially with the clever and refined usage. They all, also, were obsessive about specific food types. The woman loved tofu to the point that she had sealed skewers of it in her flak jacket. The mountain adored avocados - she made a point of  _ not _ showing him her tiny orchard to be, the seeds just taking root in their glass jars - and the two thinner men adored pickles to the exclusion of meat. It was endearing and kind of cute, especially when she made meals to include all their favorites just for them. 

It was adorable, really, how quickly they warmed up to her. Her small smiles were barely hidden in the mussed curls of her pup and the rest of her brood. They were all hardened shinobi, dealing death and protection in one stroke of a blade. That they came to her not unlike unruly kittens, tumbling over themselves and each other in the most dignified way she had ever seen, only strengthened her enjoyment of their company. 

Once they got over their scandal and shock of her, in their words, kekkei genkai handicap. And her unusual way of viewing, hm, everything. 

Hanzō pulled from her tit with a grunt, her eyes going to him. She was little more than a portable food machine at this point. It was kind of hilarious. 

“I got him, Nee-chan!” Her pup took the babe in his hands carefully, turning him with a small cloth to burp the infant. She smiled at him, running her free - and tingling because babies were  _ heavy _ \- hand through his hair. 

“You spoil me, pup.” She pressed a kiss to his brow. “What a wonderful, sweet boy.” 

He blushed under her praise, a shy smile peeking from behind Hanzō’s small body. Watching the group again, she saw them trying to figure out the pit installation. She rolled her eyes because she had written that down. Which ended up being pointed out by the mountain of a man to the rest. 

Sighing, she walked from the construction site to her house, taking her time as her pup followed. “I will be making wanpaku tonight, pup.” He giggled over the name, her own lips curving. “Would you be so kind as to help me?” 

He nodded, shifting Hanzō until the softly snoring babe was cradled in his arms and against his neck. “I wanna make the slaw.” 

Brushing her hand back through his hair, she tugged on a lock gently. “Of course, pup. Let’s feed everyone, hm?” 

They got to work once inside, babies laid out on a futon to nap as they took over the kitchen. One of the masked figures stood to the side, watching with a notebook in hand. She smiled at them, making sure that they could see what she was doing. It took very little time to get the sandwich layers ready, the eggs gently boiling as she shaved hunks of meat for thin slices, and the cabbages fermenting gently in the cooler box. By the time the Uchiha were back, she had several sandwiches stacked on a plate, cut in half so that the contents were visible. “Take what you want, please.” 

The joy inherent in the wanpaku sandwiches was that a variety of flavors were stacked neatly in such a way that, not only were they lovely to look at, they were delicious without having to worry over wasted food. It was wonderful for leftover vegetables and could be easily turned into a desert with the right fruit at hand. They were also massive sandwiches which would fill up starving shinobi with little effort, full of calories and vitamins. The best part, in her opinion, was that a child could make them, so of course an adult should be able to. 

Should. 

“The building seems to going up well,” Akio prompted, eyeing her guests. The men nodded, their woman leader smirking. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but old Shiketsu sent the correct amount of timbers. I think someone was… covering their tracks. Or trying to fuck the build up.” 

Akio hummed as she watched sandwiches disappear with astonishing speed. “How often does a buyer ask about the plans beforehand?” 

The woman blinked at her and the teenager waited patiently, nibbling on her toasted bread. “Not… not often.” And wasn’t that odd. 

“Is it usually Uchiha who seem to have issues with simple at home missions? Or is it everyone in general?” Akio hoped it wasn’t just the Uchiha. Fostering such dissent in the clans, with a  _ founding clan _ of the village was… she didn’t have the words to describe just how horrifying that would be. That someone high enough up wanted to destroy a group that powerful to create a power vacuum, it just didn’t make sense. 

The woman seemed to turn to ice and if it wasn’t for the burning sharp smell of cedar logs and embers on the woman, Akio would half believe it so. “I… what you’re proposing-“ 

“Isn’t beyond the realm of realistic. Someone, somewhere is giving the wrong information out deliberately. It is either between the ninja and the village as a whole or  _ your clan _ against everyone else.” Wiping her mouth, she leaned forward, the babies in the basket of her legs cooing without care to the very dangerous conversation happening above them. “Either way, someone powerful is fostering ill will. My advice, verify every mission between you and every client.” 

She looked to the rafters. “Spread the word  _ quietly _ to those you trust implicitly. Seek outside the clan. Look for discrepancies. Something is going on and someone is going to benefit from dissent and miscommunication. And if you have a bad feeling?  _ Listen to it. _ You’ve honed your instincts, don’t let pride get you killed. Request backup quietly. Be smart. Be  _ sensible. _ Please.” 

The somber mood didn’t dissipate even when the group went back to working on the building. Akio looked at her shadows, lips tight. “Someone is hurting you. Every single ninja is in trouble if this is happening. Please be careful.” 

All the shadows nodded, solemn. Akio very firmly didn’t touch her breast, feeling every strand that was added grow stronger. She was going to end up hurt, but… she hugged the strands in her heart, it would be  _ worth _ it. Even when it would be hard, she knew a life before this and she had felt the snaps before. She would persevere. 

She had no choice. 


	15. Best Friends, Uchiha, rAmPAGE (AKA - Akio, Your Momma Bear is Showing)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two Things Today:
> 
> 1) WARNING! This chapter has mentions of abuse! Of very physical, very cruel abuse! 
> 
> Honestly, if I had a chance to change the system, there would be a good chance that child beaters would just... simply vanish and no one would care. _You do NOT hurt children._ There is a difference in sitting the child down and telling them why you're going to pop their butt and picking up the nearest object or using your fists to _beat someone who can't fight back._ I will be demonstrating that in this story. In various formats bc... Many Small Children and the Raising of Them. 
> 
> This is my soapbox today, have a good one. 
> 
> 2) I'm running out of bumper chapters. I have Sixteen and then I am working on Seventeen. After that, I hope to update once a week-to-two weeks. I hold down a full-time job as well as work a second job and then a side job on top of that while also keeping up the house and taking care of my dogs. I usually write when I'm on break or when I should be sleeping. Yay.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

Yamanaka Inomaru pushed his hands through his hair. What was this shit. What. Was. This. Shit. The meeting with the Clan heads at the Inuzuka’s under the pretense of being invited to an event of the Alpha bitch had gone off without a hitch until one of his from out at the farm appeared in a swirl with the kind of verbal bomb that actually had the entire fucking compound dead silent in horror for ten seconds. 

Kami-sama, he was just one man slogging through the shit pile that was gathering in larger and larger stacks on his desk in innocuous little sealed brushes because paranoid was his fucking name. 

“Yo, Ino-chan.” 

“Shika-kun.” It slipped from his mouth, his long time friend and accomplice in terrible, terrible pranks in even worse taste leaning all Nara-like in the door jamb. His arms were crossed which was normal. The predatory stare was not. 

“Come on, grab your work and bring it with you. All of it, don’t give me that look, you’re going insane in this office and your wife is going to murder you in what little sleep you get then talk to my wife which will mean  _ I get nagged, _ so no. You can’t get out of it.” 

Inomaru snorted. He knew what was up. It didn’t take him three minutes to gather everything including seven ink pots and twenty-seven brushes. There was a bin at the side of his desk just for broken brushes, so it wasn’t too weird. “Of course, of course, why ever would I argue with that.” His voice was dry as he rolled his eyes. “Lead the way.” 

The best part, he knew, about having a visual tic someone could spy on was that he could get away with some strange things. Holding the brushes a little tighter, he held all the knowledge of something wrong in the village in one hand. He hoped Shikatsu could help him unravel this spider’s web without getting them killed. 

He could only hope. 

It took less than a week with the diligent Uchiha working on the building to get the whole thing up. Akio had progressed beyond just feeding the Uchiha to actively taking care of them, mending their clothing when it tore out and more than once forcing them to go bathe when they were going to just sleep in filth from exhaustion. She smirked when she heard more than once that she was more like a mother than any woman they had ever met. 

Packing them bentos for their return, she smiled when the men bowed for her customary hair ruffle and the woman slung an arm over her shoulder in an awkward hug with pink cheeks and a scowl. “Don’t die, little civilian.” 

_ “You _ don’t die, silly shinobi,” Akio chirped, smiling even as the woman huffed and started stalking off. She absolutely adored them, they were such good workers and so smart about fire safety. She guessed one had to be to do what they did, all of them smelling of cinders. It didn’t hurt that her dogs had gotten used to them within a day and had been all over them once the beasties realized the Uchiha were friendlies. There had been so many pets. So much relaxation. 

She did wonder how they would react to a bunch of kittens, though. They  _ were _ cats, after all. 

“Pup,” she crooned, passing her fingers through his hair. He was such a small boy. “Be good, okay? You ever need me, you just come on. My house is yours.” 

His eyes misted, a few tears teasing at the corners. “Nee-chan…” 

She brushed a kiss to his brow again and again, pulling him in tight. “I  _ love _ you, pup. I don’t know what I can do for you outside of my borders, but here? You will always have a place here, no matter what happens.” She nuzzled into his hair, inhaling his soft scent, enjoying how he smelled like her soaps, a little like her. “If you want to bring that adorable uncle of yours, too, well. He’s welcome as well.” 

The boy shifted his goggles off his eyes long enough to wipe them. She rarely got to see them without, but with as sensitive as his pupils were becoming… well, that was fine. She had the pleasure of seeing them in the low light, reflecting a red lens flare look when he glanced at her. It was so strange but she would never have him any other way. 

“I love you, too, Nee-chan,” he finally whispered, snuggling deep into her arms. She held him with every bit of love she carried in her heart for this boy. He made her heart ache, sometimes, but it was always worth it. When he finally let go, she let him leave her arms. It was one of the hardest things she had ever done. 

“Go, pup. Remember: my home is yours.” 

With a sniff and a smile, the boy ran off to catch up to his… clansmen. Ugh. Why did she have to love an Uchiha? This just got so much more complicated. 

“Alright, pups,” she turned back to the room, ignoring the sting of almost-tears in her eyes. “Let’s see what we can do about getting the working quarters ready for habitation.” 

Feeding cattle wasn’t any harder than she remembered. Well, she didn’t technically have troughs but she had bisected, hollowed logs heat-treated courtesy of her guests this past week. She also had a grain silo very mysteriously filled with all those oats and seeds that she had been speaking to Kaede-ji-kun about. It was in the worst place, near the Naka, so of course she was having to relocate all of it by hand when she had a free moment in between her infants, her toddler, her eldest, the cattle, the dogs, the tea bushes ready for harvest,  _ and _ the crops. This did not include the house itself or any of the miscellaneous chores that she had to let go to keep the farm running. She needed to go to the village. She needed help. 

She did not have time. 

So that was when, of course, nine days after her pup left that she awoke in the middle of the night, heart pounding. Something was wrong. She dressed haphazardly, belting a haori over something that might have been a yukata, might have been a sleeping robe, who knows, and whistled for her dogs. She grabbed the ruff of Banjo, sliding over his back. 

“To the pup.  _ Now,” _ she snarled, the dog taking off like a shot. The other dogs and wolves broke off, half to follow, half to stay for the litter. It didn’t take long for her to reach the gate then go  _ over it _ to the extreme dismay of several night watchers. Only one tried to stop her and was stopped in turn by the snarl she aimed at him in response. After that, they followed. 

The Uchiha compound came into view and she tightened her hands in the thick mane of the large brindle beast beneath her. She felt a kind of detached rage, cold logic taking front and center. The gate guards of the clan didn’t stand a chance against the tide of animals, hers leading the way to the boy. 

The house was on the small side, lit up with a single lamp inside. No sound left it. That meant little in a village with ninja, but chills went up her spine anyway. The door itself was a Shoji screen, very traditional, very breakable. She went through it, flinging herself from Banjo just as something went sailing over her head. Her mount didn’t stop and neither did she, snarling as she kicked a man clear across the room with a foot to his diaphragm. One tried to grapple her from behind but she sent an elbow high enough that it hit his throat before stomping on his naked foot with her heel and then turning to knee him in the head as he doubled over. The dogs had themselves under control, snarling over downed drunkards, all of them boozy and a bit bloody. Not their own blood, though. 

Her pup was on the floor, curled around his arm and knees touching his brow. Nothing else mattered when she saw him, her heart fluttering in dismay and wrath that she shoved down. Shoved deep, deep down until she had him secured and cared for. Getting to her knees, she crawled to her brother in all but blood, gently pressing her fingers to his head. He flinched, so minute that had she not been looking for it she would have missed it. She wondered how often he had micro-flinched under her touch before ignoring that for now. It would not help. 

“Pup, come here,” she crooned, soft and warm. She noticed he didn’t have his goggles and his eyes must burn in the light of the lamp. “I’m here now, come here, baby, let me take care of you.” 

One watery eye eventually peered out, red and aggravated. She carefully did not react to the bruising that was starting to swell or the fact that his nose looked broken from what little she could see. The moment, though, he could make her out, he was in her lap, shivering and shaking, arm hanging uselessly between them and legs a vise around her hips. A flicker in her aura had everyone, even the dogs, taking a big step back, two of her shadows flinching. 

Tucking her feet beneath her, she rose up on her toes them to her heels entirely, holding her brother to her chest. She supported his weight with ease even as she pressed his head under her chin. She didn’t say a word, just looked at the four men who had the utter gall to go not only after a child, but one of their  _ clan _ and sneered. Turning from them, she snapped her fingers, Banjo trotting to her side. 

From there she left the house, her pack on the perpetrators as she stalked away. She ignored the rush of whispers, the wide eyes, the clan head and heir. She stalked from the grounds with the aura of one wrong move away from ripping someone’s head off as she protectively held her younger brother and went to the hospital. The receptionist behind the desk was new but her recognition was not. They were shown to a closed room where Akio sat on the patient bed and rocked her brother, listening to him start to hiccup, then crying his heart out into her shoulder. Only when he was silent with exhaustion and sleep did she stop, baring her teeth and imagining how she was going to make those stupid drunkards pay. 

They had touched one of her own. It was time to show the Village that doing so was a  _ Bad Idea. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, hi. WhereTF did all y'all come from? I'm just writing wholesome Momma Bear and I'm getting so many readers. I don't know what to do, I had not anticipated this. I had been anticipating trolls and some harsh reviewers, not this shower of happiness. I'm freaking out. My midnight dabbles did not make me think I would have more than maybe two people from my server floating through and wow. WOW. I'm shooketh. 
> 
> ~~I'm really not that good, I'm just going forward at a steady march and hoping I don't fuck it up.~~
> 
> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG) I kept forgetting to do this.


	16. That’s HER Brother, Just Try It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t lie but apparently I write fast when I have the advantage of borrowing a computer for an hour or two. We still got bumper chapters! But, like, one and a half. XD
> 
> My discord! [Come talk!](https://discord.gg/S54MgG) I keep forgetting to do this.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

Akio held her boy, her brother, and watched as the nurse pressed a green glowing hand to his face to reset his nose and heal the bruising. He had already had his arm pushed back into the socket and his ribs put back in order along with a full body scan to check for organ damage. There had been nothing exactly critical, but it would have been painful allowing it to heal naturally. 

The moment the nurse lifted her hand, his face was back in her neck, the lights of the hospital painful. “All done,” she announced, taking off her bloodied gloves. “He should be just fine if hungry.” 

Brushing her fingers through his matted hair, Akio nodded. Sunlight started to stream into the room and she did not think about her two infants sleeping at her house. “Are there fatigues or a yukata small enough for my brother? He needs a shower and a change of clothes.” 

The nurse nodded, quick to leave and grab the requested items. Akio herself held the boy (who had her heart in his small hands) a little firmer. He hadn’t said a word since she rescued him and it made something in her vibrate with an even deeper wrath than before. It was going to take more than chopping vegetables to help with this rage. 

“Come, pup. Let’s get you cleaned up. Come on, baby,” she crooned, getting up slowly and allowing him to find his feet. She thought nothing of taking the sheet from the bed and ripping a strip from it. Her pup glanced up before hissing like a kitten and she took a moment to think about that. Smirking a bit, she pressed a kiss to his brow, looping the shorn fabric over his light sensitive eyes. He really was a cat like the others, just a different breed. With his eyes closed against the fabric, he was blind. With her hand in his, he didn’t seem to mind. 

She led him to the bathing room connected to his, helping him disrobe. He didn’t seem embarrassed about it and Akio was glad that she didn’t make him uncomfortable. Settling him on a stool, she disrobed as well, grabbing scrubbing brushes and a kneeling pad. “I’m going to start with your hair, baby. Just keep those pretty eyes closed and let me clean you up.” 

He nodded solemnly, her heart clenching a little tighter. Her boy. What had they— _ no. _ Calm. Peace. 

She washed his hair with tender fingers, combing out the snarls and the blood,  _ not thinking about it _ as she washed away all evidence of his brutalizing. The water tinted pink for several long moments that she carefully didn’t think about until she washed his hair again, the water running clear. Not once did he flinch at her careful touch, leaning into her body as he relaxed. Something in her eased at the contact, skin to skin. 

It doesn’t take long, she thought, to wash away visible heartache. It took so much longer to heal the heart wounds. The spiritual damage. 

Before too much time passed, she had him scrubbed down, handing off the washcloth for him to care for his genitals while she rinsed his back and shoulders clean. Once finished, she helped him to his feet, drying him off like she would her toddler daughter. He bore it all silently, always keeping skin contact in some form. 

Ignoring her own nudity, Akio checked the door for clothing. There was a pile of dark clothes in a chair and an Uchiha man she did not recognize and the sweet mountain of a man that she did. Scrutinizing them, she let her eyes drift across their faces without worry. Lazily blinking, she ignored them, too, reaching for the clothes. 

“Baby, come’ere,” she murmured just for him, leaving the door cracked for the benefit of their audience. The clothes turned out to be a yukata, soft and a little worn. A hand-me-down probably donated at one point. There were plastic wrapped boxer briefs and tabi, leg wraps and sandals. She held up the underpants to his hand and he took them with a quiet nod. After, she tucked him into the yukata, tying it with clumsy fingers in an approximation of Chihiro’s knots though not half so pretty. He forwent the tabi, wrapping his legs, then held the sandals as he padded out into the room. Akio braided her hair back, letting the ends curl over each other as she swiftly donned the sleeping robe she had forgone in the damp, sticky heat the night before followed by the haori. She stepped from the room to see the man from before studying her brother, then her. She bared her teeth in an approximation of a snarl. 

“You took one of my clansmen from his home.” 

She snorted, taking the sheet from before and ripping another strip. Her brother leaned against her, allowing her freedom to remove the damp cloth for the fresh, dry cloth. “If you call that a home, I would hate to see what you consider a prison.” His mouth worked soundlessly, jaw cracking more than once. “I’m guessing his uncle is out on a mission?” 

When the man didn’t answer, she looked up from tying off the cloth. He was stoic, face in a fierce not-scowl. The sweet mountain seemed divided before he gave the barest hint of a nod. What a good, sweet boy. She sighed, brushing her fingers through her brother’s hair to detangle it and smooth some of the kinks out. “I don't see how that is any of your business.” 

“It is when my brother is being brutalized in the place he should feel safest at.” She cut her eyes at him, staring him down, two stubborn assholes unwilling to back down. “It is when this is not the first time I’ve come across him damaged. It is when he would rather be with a  _ stranger _ than with anyone within his clan. I have  _ claimed _ him, and you cannot refute that. Not after tonight.” 

The man didn’t seem to like that, puffing himself up just before the door slammed open, bouncing off the wall and vibrating from the strength of the shove. There stood the man from before, the uncle. Her brother had jumped, pressing up against her as tight as he could, letting out a long low sound that was almost a keen. She glared at the suddenly sheepish man. 

“You are in a  _ hospital. _ Act like it.” 

Unbeknownst to Akio, she was projecting the kind of aura that most would associate with a vicious wolf about to maul someone. A vicious, protective wolf with bared teeth. Her pup was tucked close to her side and she was between him and everyone else. No one wanted to set her off because being unknown was her greatest strength. The tightening of attention to the door after it was slammed open had more than one ninja stepping out of the way, graciously making sure they weren’t going to be the one to get hit with whatever she was going to do. 

There was dense and then there was just plain stupid. No one was  _ that _ stupid with a mother just a split hair away from murdering the whole ass room. 

“Forgive me, Okaa-sama. I had heard my nephew was here after only just arriving.” 

Akio eyed him for a moment before glancing away, checking on her brother. She ran warm fingers over his face, through his hair, unknowingly startling quite a few people in the room. There were very few who could get that close to an Uchiha’s face without them flinching, even at the boy’s age. 

“Baby, do you want to come home with me or go with your uncle?” Even with his eyes covered, he lifted his face. She cupped his cheeks, rubbing her thumbs over the cheekbones. “I won’t care either way, but I will not be leaving you today. Whatever you need,  _ kitten.” _

“I thought I was your pup?” 

It was raspy and quiet, but those were the first words he had said since she had brought him in. Her hands trembled only a moment before she was pressing a kiss to his brow. “Yes, well, you confused me for a while, but I’m thinking you’re like an Abyssinian. They’re very good cats, loyal and true and loving, much like a dog. They require a lot of love and attention, just like you.” 

So, once upon a time, Akio had been a big cat loving person who was terribly allergic to anything remotely feline. To make up for it, she had researched everything she could about cats, cat breeds, and friendliness. Some of it really stuck such as the dog-like, friendly cats. Now, she was free of the allergies and embraced that she catered to kitties, too. Human-shaped, cranky kitties. 

His lip trembled a little and she pressed another kiss to his brow, her attention wholly on him. Blind as he was, he allowed her liberties she would never take advantage of. Her brother deserved better. He deserved more from her and everybody else, especially those in this room. “Like me?” 

“Oh, definitely. They need love. If they don’t have it, they start to waste away, heartbroken and full of sorrow. Much like this beautiful boy I have in my arms. You deserve love and attention, my precious kitten.” His little arms came up around her shoulders and she lifted him with ease to hold him firm and comforting in her arms. He sniffled and she started to rock, crooning loving words just for him, eyes only on him. 

It took awhile for him to stop shaking but when he did, he lifted his head and rubbed at the cloth over his eyes. “I want my damned goggles so I can see you right now.” 

Combing her fingers through his hair, she sighed. “Kitten, you’re lucky I’m even dressed - I rushed out of the house without even telling Chihiro-chan. I don’t have any sun lenses on me.” 

He giggled a little, pressing his face into her neck. “That’s funny.” 

She tickled his side, making him squirm as he tried to stop her fingers. “It’s really not. I think I scared the gate watchmen and your clansmen. Like, literally coming out of the dark like I did must have started a few nightmares.” 

Finally lacing her fingers with his own, her pu- _ kitten _ held her hand still. After catching his breath, he hummed. “Probably. I think it’s cool.” 

She shook their joined hands. “You would.” Pressing another kiss to his brow, she rubbed her cheek into his hair. “Feeling better?” 

He hummed, leaning as firmly into her as he could. “Yeah. Some. Maybe.” 

She hummed back. “Entirely valid.” She poked the tip of his nose gently with their clasped hands, smirking when he scrunched it up in protest. “Now. Your uncle is here. As is what I’m guessing is the clan head and that adorable mountain of a man who helped build my workers house.” 

“Roka, Okaa-sama.” 

She smiled for him. “Thank you, Roka-kun. You  _ can _ drop the -sama or even call me Akio.” 

He bowed his head. “Forgive me, Okaa-sama. I could not.” 

She just shook her head before turning back to her kitten. He held her a little tighter as her fingers brushed through his hair in the way he liked. “You have to make a decision, baby. It’s your call. If the clan housing doesn’t make you feel safe, then that is okay. Don’t let anyone here influence your decision. Think on it carefully.” 

He thought. He did, snuggled in her arms and taking what she gave freely. She refrained from petting him, settling on the bed with her precious baby. If she found any of her pups in such a condition, ever, for any reason, she would fly right off the handle. With righteous wrath tucked inside her ribs, held in the bone cage, she gave him all her consideration and kindness. Her brother deserved anything she could give. Within reason, of course. (If he asked for a pony, she was going to put her foot down.) 

Then he sat up, hand going to the strip of cloth shielding his light sensitive eyes. Picking at it, he pushed it up to look at his clan head, eyes already watering. Despite that, he was resolute. “I’m going to live with my Nee-chan.” 


	17. Auntie, Revelations, Comfort, Knowledge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last bumper chapter! Chapter 18 shall one day exist! That day is.... probably not tomorrow. 
> 
> Also, all of this information is true. Or, from what I've researched for literal months, it is supposed to be true. I may have oops'd somewhere.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

Inomaru leaned back as he finished his notes, Shikatsu sitting in the classic Nara Thinking Pose. This wasn’t all lost. They could change things. Somehow. 

And he bet that Hamada Akio would be the one to make it happen, whether she knew it or not. Starting with her outreach program. 

Akio had left her kitten at the hospital in the care of his uncle while she made a list to buy groceries, some clothes to fit the growing boy, and maybe get a few pairs of lenses for his use. She first took a quick detour to her lawyer, looking like the mess she was and was summarily foisted off on the man’s aged wife who doted on her mercilessly, dressed her daintily, and ended up going out with her to shop. At some point, a ninja appeared with her twins, bowed, and zipped himself off somewhere. 

While all of this was going on, Takamata Setsuko-obaa-sama cooed over the horde of dogs that wouldn’t leave her side, almost as many as there were at the hospital, refusing to leave the room of her kitten without him. Banjo also seemed to be outfitted once again with his saddlebags minus the saddle. Giving a very calm, blank stare at the sky as she took a deep breath, Akio just… let it go. She did not have time to unload all of this ninja sneakiness mess and she had children to care for. 

After feeding her sons and having Setsuko-obaa-sama fix her clothing, she sought out one of her watchers. “I need to find lenses for both my kitten and my pups. Would you show me where I can find something for them?” 

The figure bowed and led the way. Akio checked her sons in their satchels before following, oblivious to the stares she was garnering. Takamata Setsuko was with a well known, much beloved elder of the village walking with a wild horde of large dogs and wolves, a sedate hound packing two infants, and a woman that was  _ other. _ This was bound to whip up the gossip mill like egg whites in a beater, starting small before changing color and growing out of proportion. 

“Here, Okaa-sama,” murmured her escort, holding the door for her as she stepped into the dimmed interior. She smiled and telegraphed her movements before patting his forearm as she passed. 

The place was something of a connoisseur of eyewear. There was one full wall stacked from hip to ceiling with round-lenses, some with side shields and some with colors and even a few that were mirrored. One wall had civilian styled sunglasses, corrective wear, and various styles. The man behind the counter was helping what appeared to be his daughter run the till, patting her literal afro that to Akio looked wild on someone who didn’t have skin closer to mocha with as pale as the child was. She took a moment to shake that off, scolding herself. She was better than that! 

“Excuse me,” she murmured, stepping up to the counter, glancing at Banjo as he wandered the store. “My brother, son, and daughter are in need of lenses. My brother needs something to help with the intensity of the light - I believe his eyesight is similar to a feline’s and it’s a fairly new development. My son and daughter just need to keep their eyes hidden without losing the ability to actually see in low lighting.” 

The man glanced up, stilling when he saw her. She waved before hearing a sound that could only be something tumbling to the floor. She sighed, turning a glare on Banjo who had frozen after nosing the round lenses. “You break it and I’m taking the payment out of your fur. Am I understood?” 

The dog seemed to gulp before nodding, bowing gently to not jar the infants. Giving him a searching glance more akin to a glare, she turned back to the proprietor. He seemed to gulp as well before standing straight. “Thank you for coming to my shop. Why? Because you are a valued customer.” 

Smiling at what had to be a verbal tic, Akio nodded. “Thank you for having me. I am Hamada Akio.” 

“Aburame Yoshi, Hamada-san. May I ask about your brother and children?” 

She bobbed her head. “Of course, Aburame-san. My brother is a child, seven-ish?” She turned to look at her watcher who shook his head. She frowned. “Up or down?” A thumb went down and she felt her eyebrows touch her hairline. “Six?  _ Five?! _ My baby is that big at  _ five? _ What the hell!” 

“Almost six.” 

Akio felt like she was having a stroke. Her brother was to her ribs and  _ five _ . How fucking tall was he going to be?! Was the difference in size that significant between clan kids and civilians? She had to grab the counter. 

“They were doing that to a  _ five year old? _ A literal baby?” 

The words were quiet, harsh, full of rage so thick she was choking on it. The man behind the counter took a significant step back and seemed to shrink in on himself but Akio didn’t notice. She was seeing  _ red. _ “I should have eviscerated them with a  _ wooden cooking spoon. _ I am done. Absolutely done.” 

She took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out. She had things to do. A clan head to bring to heel. A clan to intimidate into fucking compliance. She was taking her  _ five year old brother home.  _ They would be allowed to kick up a fuss over their own corpses. But first… 

“I need every style of glasses that redirect or nullify light for my brother. I’ll send back the ones he doesn’t want. I need several child and toddler sized glasses that are reflective or incapable of being seen through with side visors. You can send them to,” she turned to Takamata Setsuko and the woman nodded, eyes just as dark as her own. “To Takamata-sama’s place of business or home. They will be able to get them to me. I am so sorry, Setsuko-obaa, but I need to go check…?” 

The older woman waved her on. “Go on, sweetie. I’ll finish your shopping for you. You go take care of that boy of yours.” 

Akio had never moved so quickly before in her life. 

Setsuko was a genial, friendly woman. She was well respected in the village and her husband was looked up to by aspiring young men. Her sons were all in good health with proper jobs and lovely wives and many children. What the village didn’t know was that Setsuko was the grandchild of a near extinct clan, born from a son who was only able to sire one girl - herself. Unlike the women of this almost extinct clan, most men could not dictate which child they would have. Setsuko was an anomaly in a house of eight boys, four sets of fraternal twins. Her father had married a lovely tea house waitress and she had married her dear husband at fourteen and gifted him six sons in five years, always fraternal twins, always boys. The only thing she had going for her was that she was able to stop the pregnancies. She had never been gifted enough to have a daughter. 

Then to have what basically amounted to a young, sweet cousin fall into her lap! Hamada Akio may not bare the clan name but she more than embodied the clan ideals and she was a True Daughter - Setsuko could nearly see the line that tied her to the previous head women. And those birthing hips! Why, she hadn’t seen a proper birthing-hipped woman in years inside the village besides the Inuzuka bitches. They had interbred with her clan for decades, something was bound to pass along. Particularly gifted sons would often be absorbed by the only other matrilineal clan in Konohagakure meaning that the clan name was all but lost. 

Maybe her baby cousin could bring it back with a bang. After all, she was a Mother and mothers could and would do anything for their children. 

Akio stormed through the village, people literally at times jumping out of her way as she made a beeline to the hospital. The nurse at the station trembled as she stalked through the doors and then to her brother’s room, the halls going dead silent. Upon reaching the door, she opened it to see her beautiful, good, sweet, kind brother  _ who was fucking five. _ She swept in like the force of nature she was and scooped him up. 

“Baby. Kitten. Brother-mine. Why didn’t you tell me you were five?” 

He poked his fingers together, uncaring of her nebulous aura, as if he couldn’t feel it. “I didn’t think it mattered,” he muttered, blind with his eyes wrapped but comfortable with her like no one else. “I mean, Chihiro is five, too.” 

She sighed, pressing her face into his hair. “Brat, it’s important. I thought you were  _ seven _ or something, not a literal baby -  _ do not argue, _ my point stands.” 

He frowned even as he leaned into her body. “What difference does it make?” 

She ran her fingers through his hair, wondering how she could say this. Probably just flat out facts. “You know how I don’t let Chihiro do more than one or two rows of hoeing a day? How I make sure he sleeps more and eats more and generally runs around to play?” She felt a nod against her shoulder. “That’s because at five, the body is starting to transition. Mentally, physically, emotionally. At four, most children haven’t even realized they’re a whole person, yet, haven’t realized that anyone outside of their immediate circle of caregivers and themself actually exist. This is normal cognitive behaviors, by the way. It’s how your brain develops. However, around five, a child starts to recognize themselves as a person, as an individual and not one of a whole set. Physical growth does not mirror this beyond being steady and  _ a lot.  _ Most children hit crucial growth spurts at five that will help determine how tall they will be, will show that they are healthy and eating enough. Children like you with large hands and feet and long limbs are going to be very tall.” 

He giggled when she tickled a foot, yanking it away as best he could. She let him, pressing a kiss to his hair. “Emotionally, you’re starting to understand emotions, how they function, what they mean and what makes them do what they do. It’s not just reactive anymore, it’s thoughtful and cognitive. Conscious instead of unconscious. Children aren’t even their own person until they’re double digits, and even  _ then, _ it’s subjective to the child because it could take longer for some to develop physically enough before their mental and emotional functions catch up. Sometimes, the emotional aspect diverges, there is a chemical imbalance, and you have someone who is neurodivergent in a very bad way. Sociopaths, psychopaths - those who don’t understand compassion or cannot express emotional ties. Some are just fine and live their lives not understanding nor noticing their unusual mental faculties. However…” 

She looked to the ninja coming into the room, cautious, aware of just how tightly she was holding herself back for the sake of her brother. “We live in a world where war is  _ personal _ in a way that means mental and emotional development is supercharged to be neurodivergent. Sometimes, you can force someone to  _ be _ a sociopath or a psychopath through nurturing a mindset that disables their ability to connect to another person either mentally or emotionally. This is bad, detrimental to not only the ones it is done to, but those around them. Forcing a person into a mold they do not fit for the end result can cause a fracturing in personality, mentality, degradation of morals, and the list goes on and on and  _ on. _ So, when I have you engage in activities to relax your mind and stimulate your senses, it’s not without reason, kitten. It is with the intention of helping you grow as a person.” 

He seems to be stunned. Most of the room is there with him, sharing looks and being all wide-eyed. She frowned, petting her brother. Did they really not know this? Did they not realize? 

“Nee-chan,  _ how are you so smart? _ You’re way smarter than even Uncle!” 

There was a choked off laugh and just a plain old choke in indignation. Akio giggled into his hair, her whole body starting to shake with mirth. Tucking her head against his, she cackled until she couldn’t breathe. Oh, she was still apocalyptic, make no mistake, but  _ children. _ They said the darn’dest things! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, some of my reviews get lost in translation... I am not happy because I cherish each one very much.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: lots of talk about causing trauma, irreparable damage, dismemberment, and one pissed off Akio cowing idiots 
> 
> Also, Akio's family tree? Is more like a kudzu vine. A lot of random and weird will be showing up.
> 
> EDIT: Putting this up because I will be baking tomorrow and doing a type of drive to raise money so I can maybe save my dog. She's very sick and I can't afford to take her to the vet. That's going to be taking up a lot of my time. If I can't get her help very soon, I will have to put her down. Wish me luck with my baby girl. She's only four and I'm scared I'm not in time already.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

After receiving Setsuko-obaa in to see her baby brother, drawing up an informal contract with the older woman for adoption of children with preexisting family members to the absolute dismay of the Uchiha head, and putting her brother down for a nap because it had been a wild day, she sat down for a proper talk with both the head and the uncle. 

“I want to know what is going to happen to the ones who dared touch a child,” she said, voice like the chill of an imminent flash freeze. Dressed like a princess of the village, finery all gifted from Setsuko-obaa (she didn’t have a say in it, Setsuko-obaa said so), and radiating murderous wrath like a kami from on high, she had their full attention. “They are going to be punished, are they not? Maybe removing their hands will see them learning how to be less disgusting?” 

The two men jerked back and she leveled her stare at them with something like amusement inside. Dark, hungry, vicious amusement. “Ah, Hamada-san, isn’t that a bit… much?” The clan head seemed disturbed by her callous disregard of his clansmen. He didn’t seem to  _ understand _ the gravity of the situation. “They are ninja of this village.” 

She leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Excuse me. Are you…  _ excusing _ child abusers? Because they are ninja? Because they might have  _ some _ pithy worth to this village besides being little more than sacks of trash and filth?” 

The man didn’t flinch. “Yes. They  _ are _ ninja and should be punished, but they are mine to punish within the arms of the law.” 

Disgust filled her, making her snarl silently, lips pulling back from her teeth not unlike a wolf baring their own. “Either you do it, or  _ I will _ and I will not stop there.  _ They touched a child of your clan. _ Do something about it, make them an example, or it will fucking continue, you stupid man.  _ SHUT UP, I AM NOT DONE. Do not dare _ presume to tell me that because they are ninja,  _ they get a pass. _ That is not how I will operate - their station and their job does not dictate what rules and regulations they follow and which ones they ignore. They are still citizens of Konohagakure and should be made to understand that. Sometimes, with filth like them, it has to be  _ permanent. _ Makes it actually stick.” 

The Uchiha clan head was furious in his silence, having been shut down more than once already. Akio would care more if her brother wasn’t an actual baby. Nearly vibrating with rage, the man opened his mouth. “They are  _ ninja _ of this village. They will be treated as such. They are  _ my _ clan members and I will deal their punishment. Just as I will not allow you to take that boy with you. He is  _ my _ clan member, you eye-stealing  _ whore. _ ” 

Akio didn’t move, calm, cool, collected. Visually. Her aura, her  _ chakra _ on the other hand, reflected what she thought about his words. “So. You are telling me that, not only are you going to give men who broke a baby boy a slap on the wrist and let them  _ continue _ brutalizing those who cannot defend themselves, you are going to put that same child into the exact same situation to be brutalized by his aggressors all over again? Over  _ pride? _ Over your arrogance?” Her entire body seemed to flood the room with the wrath tucked within her breast, the rage leashed by spider-silk threads. “And who cares about pretty eyes? Are you that stupid? Are you that mad? I do not want them. I want to protect a child from physical, mental, and emotional abuse, you blind rag.” 

The men sitting in front of her seemed plastered to their seats, her absolute protective fury finally penetrating some deeply hidden hindbrain instinct. The clan head seemed to blanch as something came to light, his eyes flickering up at the ANBU she knew were in the room, then to the dogs gathered around the bed, though some whimpered and hid under it. Something clicked. Something fundamental about her made him reevaluate and it nearly bowled him over even as he dared not move. 

“You’re a Bitch.” Akio’s brow went up, hearing the emphasis on the word. “An actual Bitch. How in Kami-sama’s name have you not been snapped up?” 

Amusement teased her lips as she tilted her head, several dogs following the motion and seemingly cementing the idea in his head. “I mean, you’re not  _ wrong, _ Uchiha. But you’re not quite right, either.” 

The room seemed to explode. 

Inomaru felt like he was dead. His entire office was gaping. His best friend startled hard enough that he literally fell out of his chair. Silence. 

“Holy shit.” 

The room took a breath. There hadn’t been a True Bitch in the Village since Hatake Sakumo’s grandmother. A fierce woman who had been assassinated by an unknown within months of her son, Sakumo’s father being born; it was a cold case that had been circulated for years. There was nothing in it about her having a second child. 

Turning on the room, the blonde had the entire force under his authority sit up. “Find me  _ everything _ on the Hatake clan. Speak with Hatake-sama. We need that information  _ now. _ A True Bitch in the village could mean… too much to cover in one conversation.” 

There was a moment of quiet before a green teenager from the Nara raised his hand. “Yeah, great. What the hell is a true bitch? I mean, it’s not derogatory - not that way you say it.” 

Inomaru pressed his lips together, fingertips going white where they rested against each other. “Let’s just say that if she is a True Bitch, we have the most terrifying, most mothering woman sitting in that room, claiming a child, and we won’t have a leg to stand on. Hatake are  _ smart. _ They were originally matriarchal because when a Bitch said or did something, she did it and no one stood in her way. They made a significant… clause to their joining of the village. It’s never been rescinded.” 

“... Are you fucking serious.” 

The room went wild. 

Uchiha Inabikari was a man with a short, quick anger. He had control issues, pushed against Shimura with all the loathing he could, and often was too stubborn to make sense. He knew his faults. He knew his strengths. He knew he would not win against this woman if he ever tried to push her because, for all her status as a civilian farmer, she was something that had been thought extinct for close to five decades. 

One did not get between a Hatake bred Bitch and their chosen pups. He had been told up front and center what happened when someone went after a Hatake in general much less a Bitch with pups to care for. Even with his clan backing him, it would not end well for anyone. 

And he had been fucking pushing her into a corner. How the hell was he still breathing? And claiming one of his clan! Once, it would have been prestigious, a sign of glory. Now, well, it was because some of his clansmen were fucking stupid. Honestly, he was surprised the four who had been taken down by her were still breathing. In truth, however, if he did take their hands… Death would be kinder. 

… 

That was ingenious and cruel. He schooled his features so she wouldn’t see because she wasn’t being merciful. She was being sadistic. She was going to make them suffer until they either gave up on life or begged for death. She wanted them desperate. She wanted them in agony. 

It was the simplest, most ingenious way of doing so without doing more than the initial punishment. They would kill themselves long before she would contemplate mercy. A shiver of terror lanced up his spine, only the barest of movements betraying his horror (and admiration) of such a solution. 

… He was going to have to cede this battle or he would face a war. A war she was willing to fight. Kami-sama, the Elders were going to shit themselves over this decision. 

“If the boy goes, Kagami-kun goes with him.” 

The woman smiled, all slow leisure and fierce determination. “Of course.” She leaned back a little, appearing more relaxed. He didn’t believe it. “The cute uncle is always welcome to my home. Any who seek shelter will be welcome, but children are always first.  _ Always. _ Am I clear?” 

This was… this felt too easy. His heart pounded even as he gave away clan members to keep the rest from being razed to the ground in fury. Then he realized that while this part was easy, him having to deal with his clansmen would be far harder and she knew it. Honestly, it was the best trade off he could have and still save face with not only the woman but the village itself. There was little doubt that the rumor mill was buzzing with her wild charge in the middle of the night and the sight of her carrying a bloody child to the hospital like an avenging goddess of war. 

He was as cornered as he had tried to make her earlier and he didn’t like it. “Of course, Okaa-sama. As you say.” 

The woman nodded, calmly starting to rise. “Then, if that is all, it’s about feeding time.” 

Twins wails rent the air and Inabikari saw himself out as quickly as politeness dictated. He had a clan to soothe, elders to argue down, and four stupid,  _ stupid _ men to destroy one hand at a time. It was what she asked for, after all, and at this point, he might as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually do constantly forget to put this out there. [My Discord!](https://discord.gg/szDDhG)


	19. Silver Platter, Sudden Horde, Plans Awry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been... busy. As is normal. What is not normal is the issue with the skunk getting into a fight under the house. With the dog. I am dying...

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“I should have asked for their balls on a platter,” Akio sniffed after the Uchiha clan head had left the room and she had attached both infants to her breasts. The bevy of males in the room choked on their breath at her declaration, the darling uncle having to take a moment. “It’s what Mother did after a man attempted to assault me at fourteen. Of course, I nearly broke his neck in self-defense.” 

There was a wheeze, the room balking. “She had them pickled with sake and then put them on the shrine mantle as a gift to the gods. That family quickly exiled their son after disowning him for his behavior. Last I heard, he was a eunuch for a cruel woman.” 

The only one not affected was her dear brother, her sweet, sweet kitten. He just slept on, exhausted and healing. She fixed his covers as best she could before leaning back as the twins nursed. He was such a restless boy. 

“Their… their testicles?” the uncle squeaked. He looked like he wanted to sound more composed but the fear filled him. 

“Oh yes. The only way to keep stupidity from being bred into the next generation is to… remove the questionable genetics. Preferably  _ permanently, _ but that does seem a bit too much for most to handle.” 

“... I’m not sure I have words to describe what I’m feeling,” he admitted, a bit pale. “But I think terror is optimal for now.” 

Akio laughed, cuddling her boys close. She worried for Chihiro and Himiko on their own but knew that at least one watcher was there. With her hands holding her sons firm and secure, she settled in to wait. She had a feeling things were going to change, to go very strange. 

Inomaru was not a religious man. He was not a soft man, but by all the spirits, he was going to go to the family shrine and beg for guidance because he was absolutely not meant to face off against a force of nature. It stated, in this scroll, that all Bitches of Hatake decent to be treated as  _ literal _ forces of nature. From what little had been gleaned about the  _ other _ clan Hamada-sama had displayed so far, he should probably add in a Bijū label and be done with it. 

To be honest, the accounts this one scroll held made him quiver in horror. Sakumo-kun sitting across from him seemed engrossed in his family’s exploits, not even a bit perturbed that he could have not only more clan but also a woman who could easily take Alpha position from him. In fact, he seemed… relieved? Oh, Kami-sama, no. 

“No.” 

The white haired man looked up with a foggy expression, more attention paid to the reading than he who was unraveling not only the debauchery of their village but at the seams in existential dread and Inomaru almost threw a book at him. Almost. He had a fair bit more survival instincts than that. 

“Hm? Ino-chan?” 

The blond shook his scroll at him. “No. You cannot cede the clan to this unknown.  _ No. _ Bad. Bad!” 

Sakumo just winked. “We’ll see.” 

Oh no. 

Akio stepped out of the hospital with her brother and her twins to see a small sea of children. Most were barely as old as Himiko, a few almost her own age. Her sweet fawn was there, dogs around him and smirking. “Hey, Obaa-chan. I hear your workers quarters are set up. How about it?” 

She rolled her eyes because  _ of fucking course _ . Rosco was panting happily in the arms of a child that might have been seven or eight and the center of attention as he was petted. What an attention whore. And children,  _ toddlers _ , all in worn, threadbare clothing and bare feet and thin faces. Something in her clenched, her eyes not quite misting you but they burned. 

“Come along, then. I’ll send you with a missive to Kaede-ji-san and Setsuko-baa-san for clothing and foodstuffs that aren't readily available. That will be part of your initial payment, allowing you to work for me before the floods.” She tried to do the math in her head but, as always, she was terrible at it. Truth be told, math was so far from a strength as to be a detriment and she grimaced. “You wouldn’t happen to have any suckling mothers, would you?” 

He shook his head, jogging to match her stride. “Nah. I got a few that might change their mind, but not right now.” 

“Good. I don’t have much of what a woman needs for that stage in life. I don’t really even have enough for myself, if I’m honest.” She looked back at the trailing herd of toddlers being ushered by older teens and children. The toddlers numbered in the double digits and she tried to think of what she was going to  _ do _ with all of them. “We’re low on things like futons and trunks, but I have dozens of blankets. That will have to do for now.” 

The teen nodded as he leaned in close. “Sorry about the sudden change, Obaa-chan, but some of the littles were targeted and two teens vanished this week. I decided we had to get out.” 

Something like terror curled up side by side with wrath and she knew. She  _ knew _ who was doing it. He wasn’t that slick. If he would do it to a pair of farmers, he would definitely go after orphans and unclaimed bastards. She felt sick with it, a heavy weight of disgust causing bile to build in her throat. She swallowed it back down stubbornly. 

“You did the right thing, fawn. If you have more that need a place,  _ get them.  _ He won’t stop at one or two.” The boy was somber as she checked her twins, eyes tracing their slumbering features. “Bring as many as you can. I will  _ make _ it work.” 

He nodded, falling back to talk to an older boy and a girl that must have been ten. Maybe eleven. He spoke but a moment before jogging off, the older children herding the younger ones towards Akio. She waved to one of her watchers, sighing a little. 

“Please, can you ask someone to buy enough groceries? I need you to stay close, but these children will need… so much food. How the hell am I going to swing this? Dammit, I need, like, four more of me to be useful.” 

The shadow nodded with a slight bit of amusement around them, Akio poking their forearm teasingly. “Stop laughing at me. I’m doing the best I can. Though at this point, I might as well own chickens. The amount of eggs I’m going to go through…” 

Mumbling to herself as she marched through the village, she made thoughtful plans for a coop, where it would go, and how many chickens it would take to keep her growing litter fed. She chuckled. “Never going to happen, of course. I don't have the funds… I don’t think? Um, hm. How much d-did my parents even have?” She only stuttered once, throat choking for a second before she finished her word. “But if I did that, I would have to look into getting ducks and installing a pond. Not feasible for at least another ten years.” 

Ticking off ideas on her fingers, she didn’t notice that her shadows were taking notes and relating the extent of her rambling as always to their illustrious part-time leader(s). 

Inomaru thumped his head on the desk. Shikastu cackled. Best laid plans indeed. They would need to get a second workers house up immediately because Inomaru had  _ not _ counted on the significant numbers of the children Nara Mozu had brought out of the woodwork. All of the  _ akasenko _ were coming out of hiding and making a break for the farm. To be honest, Hamada Akio offered better opportunities than anything within the walls. 

Thunder boomed, sudden and fierce. The room quieted immediately, the taste of ozone teasing the air. The summer storms had finally started though the sound of rain was absent. It was only a matter of time. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, y’all respond FAST...


	20. Akio Does Her Best (as does author)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still upset, no lie, but I love writing. It’s free and allows me to vent frustrations in a healthy medium. So, while everything is locked for those not a part of AO3, I won’t stop writing entirely. It brings me too much joy and comfort and I want to share it with everyone here. I hope to one day have my own story to share instead of writing off the backs of the greats, you know? 
> 
> Without further ado, let’s get to it!
> 
> Oh! And let’s be real. If I didn’t throw in a twist, you’d all be disappointed. 😉

CHAPTER TWENTY 

The rumbling of thunder had Akio staring up. The darkness of a sudden storm had her paling a little. She needed to get the pups into the workers quarters. Immediately. Those clouds? Were showing bad times about to happen. She was only barely into harvest, fifteen of twenty rows were picked through. She didn’t have time for this shit. 

She looked to Banjo. “Get them to the tall building. When it starts to rain, that’s it. It’s going to be bad. Round up Chihiro and Himiko, too. All the puppies. Don’t let them off the porch.” 

She started to undo most of her clothing, leaving the thin under shift and a thin belt. The rest she tucked neatly into Banjo’s packs beside her sons. Her breasts were bound lightly and her fundoshi would have to do. Checking the twins one last time, she looked to the older kids. “Follow Banjo. Do as he and the rest of the dogs do. Don’t leave the porch. For anything. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

When the duo charged with the care of the rest nodded, even if it was hesitant, she started running. Barefoot and barely dressed, hair now in streamers behind her, Akio ran for the farm. She wasn’t ninja fast, but she was quick and her feet sure. Having once been on the Track Team (and softball, choir, theatre, archery, and FFA because boredom was an enemy best conquered) she knew how to set a pace and then keep going. Instead of taking hours, she could make the trip in a little under one. 

With the ground a solid dry brick under her bare feet, she moved. Grass crunched dryly, dust flying as she all but flew across the road. She leapt from the gates over the drainage system, startling the gate guards. She cut a path that slid through the small forest around the gates instead of taking the road around, knowing it would shave off another twenty minutes. Nara deer stomped and blew in agitation, one tossing his regal head, but none challenged her as she darted around the young and vaulted more than once over the backs of large adults. 

“Sorry!” she called, her breath starting to labor. She was a sprinter, not a long distance runner. She would have to change that. 

Thunder boomed again, further out. There was just the softest of breezes, something that would change very soon. The air started to gain weight, nothing like it had been just an hour ago. This wasn’t rain, this was going to be a storm, a monsoon. There must have been a hurricane or something off the shores to the south or east and that had diverted all the rain until now. That meant what was coming was going to be hellish. What a wonderful time to live outside the village. 

Skidding past the outermost field, she sighed that it was one of the fields already finished, many overturned soybean bushes speaking of her Himiko having helped pluck the beans from their vines. That was a relief. Each row was technically a double row of plants with a body length of space between them and the next row, a small aisle between the doubled plants to hoe and weed. It ensured that parasites wouldn’t be able to easily tumble from one to the other and allowed her some decent space to burn a row if necessary. The last five rows, if she remembered correctly, were closer to the house. One whole field and a part of another. Dashing across the lines without care, she nearly fell when she tripped. One long arm came out to grip her around her waist and keeping her upright. Patting the arm in thanks, she gasped in her lost air and was quick to get going. Skidding to the shed with the baskets, she grabbed four and took a second to pat the stitch in her side. 

“Fuck. This,” she gasped. Gripping her knees, she gathered her breath. “I’m out… of shape. Whew.” 

Thunder boomed. She didn’t have time for this. She ran on. 

Sakumo looked at his tired, depressed wife nursing their four month old son. He wasn’t home enough. She shouldn’t be this tired. Pushing off the wall with his shoulder, he slinked in, kneeling before his mate with a soft grin. 

“Keiko,” he crooned, reaching his hand out to curve against her cheek. His thumb brushed over the high arch under her eye as his fingers curled into her hair. “My wife, my love, my mate. We have an Alpha.” 

Eyes like bronze looked at him, tired, so tired, but  _ determined. _ That spark that had caught him up was still there. Was still alive and burning. What had he done to find and mate such an enchanting, dangerous woman? Not nearly enough. A wild woman, a wolf without a village but a pack of both wolves and humans. What his ancestors had once been like. He had fallen for her the moment he saw her and he breathed deeply of her scent. 

Pressing her lips to his palm in a kiss, she hummed. “Oh? Not this Hokage business again, is it?” 

He shook his head, taking his son once he finished his feed and cradling him, turning him to be burped along the firm length of his forearm rather than his shoulder. Kakashi was not sickly… but he was small. Sakumo feared damaging him if he could not see him. “I found a True Bitch. An Alpha who is an absolutely terrifying mother. She is a many times removed cousin from my pack’s roaming days, I think.” 

Keiko licked her lips, seeming to be beset with sudden nerves. “And her receptivity?” 

He snorted. “If how she has taken every single child she can from the whores and streets is any indication, she will be more than happy to have another adult woman around.  _ She _ is the civilian that tore through the village to save the one she claims as brother.” 

Keiko gasped before laughing delightedly. “Oh! We must celebrate!” 

Settling Kakashi down within his sleeping box, he couldn’t agree more as he leaned into his wife. He smiled when she lay back under him, baring her neck to his attentions. He had much to make up for with her and getting his beautiful, wild wife  _ out _ of this village that was slowly killing her seemed to be his best bet. After he showed her proper appreciation, of course. 

One basket, two,  _ three _ of them, bulging and heavy, Akio gave up the last row when the first drop fell. Trudging through to the house and her children, she smiled when Himiko and Chihiro greeted her. “Forgive me for leaving so suddenly.” 

Chihiro waved it off. “I woke up when you did. I knew something was wrong. You didn’t even get dressed.” He eyed her now dirtied sheath. “And didn’t stay dressed when you were.” 

Gently poking his nose, she leaned in to kiss the tip. “Go gather everything you can’t live without. The floods are about to start and I don’t want to chance anything you need or want being destroyed.” 

He nodded, doing so even as Himiko hung off her in a hug. “What are we going to do?” 

“Workers quarters for now. I had hoped we could have had the house raised this year, but I’ve been… busy.” That was an understatement. “Himiko, my star, please.” 

The toddler giggled, very literal in hanging from Akio’s neck. Sighing, the young woman started packing all the food up, utensils and her hot plate that would be useless but she didn’t want to chance it floating away. They were terribly expensive. Her daughter made a nice necklace, too, getting in the way in the most inconvenient times and situations. Finally having enough, she wrapped her arm around the tiny body and tickled even tinier feet until Himiko was giggling too hard to hold on, hands going towards her feet to keep them safe. Kissing the crown of her little girl, Akio plopped her princess down on the stacked futons. 

“Work with me, baby girl. Stay right here and when we’re done, I promise we’ll cuddle.” 

“Yaaaaaaay!!!” 

Packing went much smoother after that until she was standing with all necessities and a good portion of her life packed and ready for transport. The rain was little more than a mist but… she felt the weight in the air. This was just the leading edge, the very first sign of something about to give. She had to get everything there now. There was no more time and what happened would happen. 

Pulling Himiko onto her back like a wriggly cape for a piggyback ride, Akio tucked a trunk under one arm and held her three bulging baskets precariously in the other. She would have to come back for everything else. “Let’s go, children,” she murmured, thunder starting to rumble faster and louder. “Chihiro, straight to the building.” 

It didn’t take long and by the time they got there, the dogs with the kids arrived too, several toddlers riding on strong backs with hands tight in fur. Some had obviously been crying at some point and snot and tears were everywhere. Plopping Himiko on the porch that was almost to her ribs in height, Akio plucked Chihiro up after pushing all her baskets and the trunk out of the way. 

“Hey, little ones. It looks like it is time for a big rain.” She smiled at the smallest children as warmly as she could, unknowingly exuding that soft warmth and loving nature she possessed. More than one older teen choked, a few stifled groans from her watchers lost in the sounds of many toddlers starting to cry. “Oh, babies, no.” 

Crooning, she started to gather them up, wiping their faces with a bandana and pressing kisses to their small brows. It was hot and miserable and now wet but she offered what relief she could even as she transferred every small body into the house and had the dogs and wolves shake out before trotting inside. She would have to get them all bathed at some point and then wash their clothes. They were plenty young enough that being nude around each other wouldn’t even phase them. 

That’s about when her twins woke up and demanded food. 


	21. Slipping Down A Slope, Other Options, Unloading on Inomaru (poor fool)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updating again bc not only did I finish this, but because this feels like a victory for all authors of unpaid works! I have officially unlocked all my stories and I hope you all get to enjoy them! Moderation is still on, I'm not entirely mud for brains, but all my readers who are not affiliated with AO3 are now able to access my stories again! I am so sorry I locked you out, dear readers, but there is a time and a place to make a stand and I refused to bend. 
> 
> And as an actual chapter summary: Akio gets P I S S E D, Sakumo gets G O N E, and Shikatsu makes Inomaru want to sigh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING!** This has mentions of Past Rape of a Minor and future chapters will have Rape Recovery. 
> 
> I do not do this lightly. This subject is very harsh and painful for everyone across the board, men, women, and children. However, while it is harsh and disgusting, _it exists._ This is a time when death to a literal infant would be just another one for the team - and one of the reasons I'm _writing_ Akio at all. It needs to be addressed. It needs to be shown. And then it damn well needs to be Shut The Fuck Down. Akio is me without the filters and I'm going to keep that theme. 
> 
> For those of you who cannot handle it, that's more than okay! Just skip to the first gap with Sakumo, okay? I love you and support you and you deserve to choose when and how you handle it. You're not missing much beyond a future plot point that basically boils down to Pissed Off Mother Gonna Make Em Regret. 
> 
> As always, best wishes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Akio quietly sorted the soybeans and the pods, watching toddlers tumble over each other and the puppies who were chasing them across the veranda. The storm shutters were in full effect, the lanterns lit and a small fire going in the central pit monitored by teens and used as light by children learning how to write. It seemed Mozu knew quite a bit and was more than willing to teach the younger kids because Kaede either hadn’t come through with the tutors (very unlikely) or something had gone very wrong (much more likely) or the tutors refused to help her (likely). 

“Akio-sama,” muttered one of the teen girls helping her, dark eyes and blond hair on a dark mocha skin making her stand out from the rest. She was an oops baby from a drunken tavern night between a Kumo nin and her mother. “I… have questions.” 

Akio hummed, wondering if it would be about puberty, periods, or sex. Probably a mashup of all three. “Go ahead, I’m listening.” 

The girl took a while, shelling the pods slowly as she tried to get used to the fiddly work. “I, hm.” She bit her lip. “I am of breeding age. Does not one who is a benefactor ask compensation of their wards?” 

Akio took a moment to not crush her handful of pods, depositing them back into their basket. After three days in a moderate sized house with over two dozen humans of various ages and twice as many dogs, she guessed that the kids had gotten a feel for her. That allowed them to ask questions. 

This was not something she was prepared for. “How old are you…?” 

“Nana, Akio-sama. I am fourteen.” 

She took a deep breath and pressed her toes to the floor from where she sat seiza. The pain of all her weight on them helped clear her head. Wrath still simmered in her breast, trapped by silken wire and a tenacity to not lose her temper. 

“Nana-chan, you are by definition still a child.  _ Still a child, _ young lady,” she interrupted the teen before she could speak. “You may have started your menses, but your body is not prepared for the intrusion of a male organ nor for carrying a fetus to term. Your body  _ won’t  _ be ready for the intrusion of a male organ until you’re at the very least sixteen with your hips only just now widening properly and your internal organs developing with the onset of hormones from puberty.” 

She swallowed a moment to keep from going on a rant. She needed to be calm and cool and sensible about this or it would spook the girl who was clearly from the red light district. Probably had been slotted to be nothing but a whore, trapped to a House without other prospects. And Nana? She was  _ exotic _ and  _ different. _ She would have brought plenty of clients in for any House clever or vicious enough to force her into the life. Not that Houses with their Matrons were bad - that wasn’t it. It was just that any self respecting Okaa-san of a House would be stupid to let her go. 

“Your body isn’t exactly ready for children until then, either, though I implore you to wait until you’re eighteen. Your physical development will be far enough along that the mental and emotional development will have caught up. Yes, depression speeds up the mental development, and yes I can tell, but no, it does not help your emotional development.” Akio rubbed her hand over her face, smearing green juice and brown mud. “Kami-sama, please tell me no one has touched you.” 

There was silence too long and Akio turned to look at her new ward with wide, suddenly furious eyes. The girl was biting her lip, a single tear making a dark track down her beautiful face. Inside her, all that wrath was starting to become too much. She needed an outlet. She needed to put her hands around someone’s throat and crush it. She needed to take off a few hands from the fucking  _ shoulder _ to make a point. She needed to  _ r a g e. _

She could not do that. Not right then. It wasn’t an option. So she examined every angle of the need, the emotion, folded them up into neat corners, and put them in a box. She could not lose it. Not now. She had a child who had been  _ raped _ to care for. 

“Was it consensual, Nana-chan?” The girl shook her head, nerveless fingers dropping the pods and soybeans alike. Akio ignored that to focus. Focus on the girl. “Baby girl, I am coming closer. May I hold you?” 

The girl shivered and shook, trying to nod. Akio was beside her in a flash, tugging the child into her lap gently, tucking her head under her chin. She curled one arm around her waist, the other her thin, svelte shoulders, and held her close as all that packed away sorrow came out and the girl cried. Three years younger than Akio herself and this baby had to have this kind of treatment? Because of where she lived?  _ Like hell. _

“No one touches you again, precious, sweet baby.  _ No one _ will unless you allow it. I will rip down the walls of this fucking village if I have to,” she promised, the vow holding heavy on her tongue. The girl relaxed into her, then, her body starting to shake with sobs. 

Outside, the rain fell in heavy sheets, hiding the heartache from one young girl and the most terrifying young woman the village had affiliated with it and the depths of her rage. 

Sakumo handed in his request form, standing at attention as his Hokage and leader, his part-time Alpha read through it. Thick brows winged up, dark brown eyes peering at him. “This is unusual, Sakumo-kun. Our village needs you.” 

“My  _ wife _ and  _ newborn son _ need me as well, Hokage-sama. It  _ is _ only for a fortnight.” For once in his life, he wasn’t going to bow down and let this man rule him through his instincts. The mere thought of a young woman being his Alpha allowed him leeway, gave him so many more options. 

The man in the hat didn’t hold as much sway this time. 

“Very well,” Sarutobi muttered, teeth clenching on his pipe. “Approved starting tomorrow. Have a good evening, Sakumo-kun.” 

The man couldn’t leave fast enough. 

Inomaru chewed on a brush, tilting his head. The amount of information on physical, mental, and emotional growth they were getting just from being near Hamada Akio was unreal. He was compiling a stack of notes, writing it on a scroll for his clan library. It also opened his eyes to the Academy, the press by their Second Hokage to up the admittance and graduation age starting to make so much more sense. 

“Is there anyway we can move that Bill Tobirama-sama had tried to put into effect before he died?” he tried to say. As he had a fat brush clenched in his teeth, it was more a series of strange grunts than words. Shikatsu plucked the brush out of his mouth in order for him to repeat himself for the clan head. 

Shikatsu leaned back, frowning. “I don’t see why not. It won’t involve the Council the the current Hokage has at all since this doesn’t concern them and the clan heads should like that we’re going to keep any young women in village until they’re physically ready to handle the demands some of our missions require of them.” The brunet pondered the implications and how quick other villages might be to follow or even go the opposite direction. “If we did it fast enough, that could work to our advantage. Secure more contracts with the civilian lords and ladies since it will present a better front, will show how we’re willing to advance our village’s policy on child soldiers. Might bring in more influence with those of higher status wanting to send a son or daughter to us for survival and self-defense training if they won’t be on the battlefield at all before their wedding night.” 

Inomaru just rubbed his face. “I was thinking about the kids, but alright. You go ahead and bring all those troubling things out of the woodwork.” 

Shikatsu laughed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Discord](https://discord.gg/4dCN72X) for those who want to have early update warnings and a say in what goes on.


	22. Defying Norms (just to clean the ceiling), Hope, Best Friends Are Assholes

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 

Akio watched the rain fall, days having passed since she had her heart to heart with her ward Nana. She had finished shelling the soybeans and was sick of seeing nothing but sheeting rain. She was also having trouble sleeping with the amount of emotions she was keeping to herself, so there was that, too. 

Oh. And she had _dogs_ on her _ceiling._

Glowering at the misfit mutts she adored and kind of wanted to turn into pelts just so they wouldn’t leave muddy tracks where she couldn’t clean, she looked back down to her suckling sons. They were getting so big now, strong boys who weren’t getting full off of her breast milk. It was troubling because she was running out of time and space to make it possible to feed everyone. And food. Definitely running out of food. With water knee-deep already, any and all outer wall roadways were shut down and only ninja were permitted to roam since they could stand on water and not muck up the roads worse. 

… Now there’s a thought. 

“Mozu-kun,” she called into the soft twilight. The fawn responded by all but appearing from nowhere. Since he had been under the porch checking on the debris level, it wasn’t like she was startled. Also, he was loud when he breathed and walked and just existed. Poor form for a ninja in training. “Teach me how to walk on water, please.” 

The teen blinked for a moment before nodding. “Sure. Why not make you absolutely terrifying.” She leveled him with a bland stare that he grinned back at. “Seriously, you have the whole ninja force losing their minds and it’s hilarious. The rumors are just _unreal_ , Baa-chan. You’re basically a cryptid!” 

Akio had to snort at that, covering her mouth to hide the twitching lips. “That’s terrible, Mozu-kun! I’m just a civilian farmer, after all.” 

There was a distinct sound of seven snorts, four from above, two from the dogs closest, and one from Mozu. (And a partridge in a pear tree…) Mozu pointed at her with a stick. “You’re not _just_ anything, Hamada Akio-baa-chan. You are the civilian who not only told off a Clan member, you are the cryptid that found the only ninja-centric bank in the village, have bullied ANBU into being bag boys, and the one who went hell bent for leather into Uchiha territory, saved a kid you have claimed, and then proceeded to _take_ said kid in despite the protests of the clan head who you have actually motivated into doing something by making him cut off the hands of four subordinates! You, Baa-chan, are a living legend!” 

She was absolutely red in the face, waving away all that, that… _nonsense_ by ignoring it. “Hyperbole is not becoming, Mozu-kun.” Clearing her throat at his disbelieving gape, she adjusted Akira until she could burp him without jostling Hanzō. “And I want to learn so I can do some shopping without having to go swimming. We’re running out of food.” 

He sobered pretty fast at that. “Ah. Yeah.” 

Smiling at him with her hands full of infants, she nudged him with her knee. “Don’t be so glum, fawn. That’s just _life._ Food runs out. It’s why most places will let refugees in instead of stopping them. It goes from a fighting war to attrition as your opponent starves.” 

He blinked at her, eyes going wide. “Why the hell aren’t you a ninja?” 

She chuckled, settling her smaller twin in his arms. “I never said I was unable to be a ninja, now have I?” 

He seemed shocked and Akio wondered what he would have done in her place, last child of struggling farmers, seemingly the only one who remembered her brothers existed, mastermind of assholery, and the only reason they had gotten this far. She shrugged as she pulled Hanzō over her shoulder to burp, getting a great big belch that turned into satisfied sniffles and coos. After that, it didn’t take long to hand the boys off to some of the older children so she could get her first lesson in chakra. It really wasn’t that hard finding that foreign-not-foreign prescience within herself, coaxing it into being within her hands. It was like static, like electricity within her blood and in her muscles, twining around her bones that felt more like the ground below her, teased the depth of watery rivers full of life within her breasts and all throughout. Her lungs teased with air and in the center of her breasts, fire burned. 

“Oh.” She described what she felt, eyes closed as she held her hands to her chest. Blinking as she looked at her fawn, he seemed to be dead inside. “Mozu-kun?” 

He took a moment before he spoke. “Literally the best of us did not want to be a ninja. I am fucking dying.” 

Akio flicked his nose. “Language. The Littles has better not start saying that word.” 

Wiping his face, Mozu shook his head. “Okay. Okay, okay, _okay._ So, how we’re going to start—“

Sakumo held his wife as she held his son, the two staring at the sheets of rain pouring over the roof. Their essentials were packed. They had eleven days to appeal to this young Alpha. Sakumo scented his mate as he stepped away to finish sealing the last of their belongings and property. 

“Come, Keiko, my love,” he murmured when he finished. They were going to be going as civilians, just a family out for a walk in the early breaches of the stormy weather. Her small hand went to his arm as he opened their obnoxiously large umbrella. “Told you it would come in handy one day.” 

Keiko smacked him, her eyes sparkling a little through the dullness of depression. “I cannot believe you remembered that.” 

He grinned, crowding close to her. “Of course I did. I bought it for you in Uzushio and when I came back, you _threw it at my head._ I always said you should have taken to the spear.” 

She giggled a little, leaning her head on his shoulder. Already, they were mending. She was trying, by the kami, she was trying, but she just couldn’t. Not alone. 

The almost burning hot arm of her mate, her husband curled over her shoulders, pulling her closer as he matched her stride. Tears stung her eyes as she leaned into him. This had to be better. This had to be something better with a mere child Alpha than trapped inside the walls of a pretty cage. They were going to find out one way or another. 

Inomaru hummed as he sweated. Was this fucking serious? He kicked Shikatsu where he sat shaking in silent hilarity. “Shut up, you bastard.” 

“You know damned well who my parents are, you bitch.” 

“Ugh, I hate you.” 

Shikatsu made a kissy face at him and the blond tipped his chair over just to watch the asshole he called best friend crash to the floor. Said asshole kept laughing, only it was aloud now. Sighing, the put upon man started cleaning up his notes, shaking his head. This was just his luck. Fucking dammit. 

He hid a smile with the piles of folders he was pulling together. Hamada Akio was changing the landscape and it was starting to look bright. 


	23. Breaking Point, Terror and Love, What Are We Working With, Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a double update??? I only had the day off, so. I guess so? Have another installment of Akio destroying expectations. 
> 
> Just as a note, she won’t be doing this very often. It’s an absolute last resort when she’s pushed into a corner. Let me tell you, this kind of rage? Is pretty much why I learned to curb my temper before I turned twelve.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Akio figured she was doing okay, wobbling as she was on the moving water around the workers house. She needed to check her home and then set about getting food. Sure, it had only been a day, but she had Things To Do. The fact that she was soaked to her knees in muddy water and soaked all over with rain might have had something to do with it. She was a mess already,  _ might as well. _ So out she went, wobbling on the water top but mostly stable. It became easier the longer she walked until she was striding like a creature made of water itself. 

It didn’t take long before she was at her home, water already lapping over the edges of the porch and into the genkan. She was going to need to replace everything on the floor. Maybe even the boards themselves. Sighing, she went in to grab some things she had forgotten, changed into something dry, brushed out her hair, and grabbed an umbrella. She wanted to walk on water, not be subsumed by it. And, hey! She even got the knot correct on her yukata! 

Grabbing two shopping bags from the higher shelves, she checked that her yukata was above her ankles by quite a bit before setting out over the water again. The umbrella drummed with the rain but it had become easier to see through, she guessed, as she walked to the house to inform her children and wards where she was going. Mozu stepped on the water beside her, giving her the stink eye of someone thwarted with his own umbrella. 

“I’m going with you.” 

“Then you’re carrying the shopping.” 

He sighed. 

The trip was uneventful, the gate ninja just taking it in that she was  _ on _ the water instead of in. There was a nice little earth wall keeping the water from filling their station as they sat under the too small awning. The first one shook his head slowly while blinking a time or two. The other had to be smacked before he moved, eyes fluttering before he groaned. Akio for her part didn’t understand what was going on as Mozu helped her step down the earth wall in her yukata so she wouldn’t flash the rest of the world. 

When she wasn’t looking, Mozu sighed dramatically and shrugged at the guards. “She learned this morning.” 

Akio looked up at the teen. “Mm? Did you say something, fawn?” 

He shrugged. “Just answered a few questions.” 

She nodded and didn’t ask. He would tell her or he would not. He was entitled to a few secrets. “Hm. Come along. We need to get food. If you’ll excuse us?” She turned to the gate guards with a small bob of her head before stepping into the village. “Hurry, Mozu. We don’t have too much time.” 

“Yes, Obaa-chan. Don’t question, alright? I have to stop or  _ I  _ go insane.” Leaving the guards with that nugget of wisdom, he trotted over the mud much like Akio was doing subconsciously, staying just on top of the muck. The shops were thriving even in the rain, the tall walkways of wood lining the shop fronts full of patrons out and about, clinging to the awning covered areas. 

Quick about it, Akio didn’t even have to haggle for the proper prices with the shop owners so harried that they had to take the prices they were given. Akio almost felt petty enough to lower the prices unreasonably before shaking the thought off. She wasn’t a  _ thief. _ She just grabbed what they needed, dropped coin into the proper hand, and left. 

In and out, in and out, she had her bags bulging before long, her fawn carrying them with unnatural ease. They had just finished getting six fat chicken carcasses for a massive stew when a couple with a small infant came into view. The man seemed to unerringly turn in her direction, the massive umbrella making her slightly jealous. It was so big and useful! 

Then he called out to her. “Hamada-sama?” 

Akio had twelve years to get used to being a Hamada. Five years more than Akio and much less than when she was someone else. It took her a moment to turn. He was tall, hair a silvered-white and he was  _ pretty.  _ He didn’t even look human, looked too much like fay, like Yōkai. His skin nearly glowed with a luminous luster that didn’t seem natural, lips full and nose a sharp slope on his face. The woman was almost as tall, hair a soft white with a pearlescent and silvery sheen and unreal to look at. Her skin was several shades darker with eyes two different blues. They were not in any way related, her face a soft square with a strong chin and a broad nose than some would say made her look mannish. To Akio, she was a statuesque beauty not unlike one would think of Greek women. She looked like she should be in a leather harness asking what your safe word was. 

…

Akio might have a very small, minuscule thing about tall women who could dominate her. 

But! That was not the thing she should be focusing on. “Yes, my dear?” 

The man guided his… wife? Had to be, their infant between them and sleeping soundly. They floated over the muck and mud with the kind of delicate posture that screamed predator. They were in perfect unison, their bodies flowing around and with each other like dancers who knew everything that their partner could and moved accordingly. It was kind of beautiful to watch. 

“Hamada-sama, I am Hatake Sakumo. This is my mate, Keiko. May we speak privately with you?” 

His voice was smooth and deep and a shiver of delight curled around her spine. Dammit.  _ Hormones. _ Shaking off the temporary insanity, she tilted her head. “I would enjoy doing so but I have children I must hurry back to.” 

The man, Sakumo, leaned close. “Please, Alpha, we are in need.” 

Something in her stirred, that thing she kept caged blinking a lazy eye. Ah. That explained… more than it did not. “Walk with me, if you would. My house is not far. It is fairly cramped right now with us all in one place but I believe that I can find more room.” 

The duo stepped beside her, the man willing to take some of the shopping and her fawn more than willing to hand off the heavier basket. Before long, it was the women walking shoulder to shoulder, the babe between them as the males brought up the rear, Keiko against Akio as they huddled under her much smaller umbrella. Aiko eventually pulled the woman tight against her, arm around her waist as they fell into step with each other. 

“So,” she began, walking through the western gates and to the earth wall. A piece of the ground rose with them on it, Akio turning to look at her watcher. “Thank you. As I was saying,” she turned back to her… guest. “What is it that you and your, hm, mate need?” 

The pearl-haired woman leaned against her, pale locks of hair falling to mingle with Akio’s own riot of black. “We are… isolated. I cannot leave the village and he cannot stay with me. It is… killing me.” 

Akio hummed as she nuzzled into the woman’s shoulder, petting her side. “And the Hokage?” 

Keiko snarled, a visceral sound that Akio ignored. “He is the  _ worst. _ Demanding much, giving little! He allows this to continue!” 

Akio sighed, shaking her head. “Ah. But, me? I don’t know what I can do, Keiko-san. I am just a farmer, I am not Alpha material at all.” 

The woman snorted, pressing her face into the black hair tickling her cheek. “You are doing well so far. Not many would allow a beast like me so close.” 

Akio made an affronted sound, turning her head to the taller woman. “They what?” she hissed, eyes narrowing. “Who said that? You know it’s not true, right?  _ I’m going to gut them with a wooden spoon… _ ” 

Keiko laughed, head thrown back and chest shaking as she held her infant. Aiko was about to comment when she was shoved by someone. 

“Baa-ch—“ 

Then there was a splash and before she could turn, she saw her fawn being dragged under the water and Sakumo with hands full of the second basket of shopping. Her heart stopped. “Mozu!” 

She didn’t remember letting the umbrella go or even starting to move, but she was running, yukata sliding out of place as she took off after the trail her precious fawn left in the shallow waters. Something had pulled her boy into the water. Something he had saved  _ her _ from. All that tightly leashed rage and anger and hurt inside her breasts throbbed to be released and she let it happen. 

The world sharpened. The sounds it made echoed. The taste and smell were overwhelmed with water but also mud and ozone. It was as if time slowed down as she dashed like her life depended on it. Worse, it wasn’t  _ her life _ at all that depended on her ability to sprint over water with a barely learned skill. Floating debris slowed down the one with her boy and she jumped over it, sinking sometimes but powering through. One piece looked promising and she grabbed it in a low running crouch, coming up with a fat spade shovel. Good. She could use this. 

That’s when the one who had her boy breached, grinning wide and sharp before lifting her boy and taking a bite out of his hip. Mozu coughed and gagged and screamed, the sound one of terror and pain. The roar that left her throat was a howl of rage, the kind that rattled the bones and the earth. The blue man had no idea what hit him when she swung the shovel with one hand, making him release Mozu from his jaws. Snarling like wrath itself, she twisted and put her whole body into the second hit, knocking him into the water. 

Mozu dropped, shocked and in pain and  _ bleeding. _ It was either go after the blue-skinned man or save her boy. Baring her teeth at the man that looked at her, black eyes wide in sudden terror, she reached for Mozu, pulling him up after dropping the shovel. The boy was almost her size, weighted with muscle and absently gangly youth and hard for her to get up. 

Blue fingers crossed her vision, sharp tipped and attached to a bloody-mouthed, grinning asshole. Before she dropped her boy, a pale hand snapped the back of his shirt and lifted him just before Akio was tackling the blue man into the water. 

They went under and the man laughed at her, seeming amused by her protective wrath. He wasn’t amused for long as she snaked up his body, leaving her yukata in tatters from his claws, mouth closing around his throat. She bit, digging teeth in and jerked her head as if trying to tear his throat open. Her hands weren’t idle, raking in fierce claws down his face, his chest. The man howled and Akio took the opportunity to surface for fresh air. Before she could dive back down, the man had his hand around her thigh, tugging her back down. She went, eyes wide as she lunged at him. 

“Holy shit, you’re terrifying,” he marveled, barely able to rasp the words from an abused throat as he held her back. Akio felt like the storm itself, ozone under her skin and blood in the water. “I thought you were a fucking civilian.” 

Grinning sharp and dangerous, she winked before she pulled on that static, condensing it into the bolt of an enraged god of old, Zeus would be proud. The moment he looked to be ready to bite into her instead, she clawed him with every bit of snarling beast inside her, nails cutting deep with the unerring snap of lightning flinging from the tips and disrupting his entire arrhythmic pattern. 

He froze and she cried out, sucking water instead of air. She started clawing to the surface of the water, ignoring him as she broke the surface and gagged and choked the water from her lungs. It took her a moment of treading to realize she was far from where the chase started, almost to the river and where the flooding was the worst. The one who had assaulted her fawn was floating away with the currents, stunned and currently not the issue. 

“M-Mozu?!” She coughed, hacking up water and possibly her lungs. “MOZU?!” 

She turned, relaxing too much when she saw him limp in pale arms, going under for a moment before she pulled herself back up. Sputtering, she decided now was the best time to put her new technique to use and tried to make her hands settle on the surface. It took two tries and a dunk before she could push herself up enough to “sit” on the surface, then stand. It didn’t last long, she was exhausted in a way she had never been before and she had started to list when black arms wrapped around her, the near vibrating figure of one of her watchers holding her up. 

“Hamada-sama,” she intoned, voice crisp and business-like. 

“Oh…” she got out, leaning over to wretch into the water. “Ugh. Dik Dik-chan.” She lolled in strong arms, voice rasping with every breath. “I think I overdid it?” 

She was swept up, held tight like some princess. “We need to go to the hospital, Hamada-sama.” 

She took a moment to answer. “No. No, we don’t. My children need me, Dik Dik-chan. Take me home.” 

The woman seemed hesitant before nodding, going towards where she lived with her hordes. The couple with her fawn followed. She blinked, exhaustion wearing on her from all sides. Akio had no choice in staying awake, no chance to make herself stay lucid. She was out before they met with the couple at all. 

Sakumo couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed, a visceral kind of terror still lingering. In fact every adult  _ but _ his mate had been rendered fucking  _ useless  _ by the cloud of Death and Wrath the little civilian gave off once she realized what happened. He had never heard of that from  _ his _ side of the family before and was glad that until now, he hadn’t ever had the…  _ fortune  _ to be subjected to something that made KI seem tame. Still shaking, he held the boy the young woman had tore off after like a beast of fury and storms and hoped she would be calm when she awoke. 

The ANBU carrying her did so with equally trembling limbs. 

Three more found their way to them at some point, all of them having trouble staying on the water. They did eventually make it to the house, the teen and woman laid out to the distressed sound of… many children. Keiko immediately went to soothe them, introducing her infant to the rather large litter of pups as the ANBU started triage on the two. 

One bowed to him before swirling out, no leaves left in an oddly curious courtesy. Laying the baskets out, the jounin had to sit down and take a moment to gather himself. It took longer than he would like to admit to flush the chakra aura of what could be his potential Alpha from his system. The rumors hadn’t done her justice. His heart still thundered in his chest. 

“She seems strong,” murmured Keiko as she came over, their son in the care of an older teen boy who held him expertly. Already she looked better, eyes clear for the first time since she was seven months pregnant. Her presence helped with the shivers, made him relax. She pecked his cheek. “I like her.” 

Sakumo swallowed around the dryness in his throat. “I’m glad, koi.” His voice rasped and he had to wet his lips with a dry tongue. “Let’s just not get on her bad side, yes?” 

Keiko hummed in agreement, entirely unaffected. “Mm. Her Intent is very strong and oddly directional. It didn’t hit me or Kakashi at all. But everyone, even the ANBU who she knows well, were.” 

That… was a very… interesting faucet. It had been observed that children didn’t seem to react to it, but for it to exclude his mate  _ and _ his infant? “It felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket of love,” she added. “Like I was safe. Wanted. Unconditionally.” 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Sakumo held his wife, looking at the young woman starting to rouse through application of chakra, water coming from her parted lips as it was gently pulled from her lungs. She coughed once before blinking open her eyes. 

Her first action was to look for the boy, once aware of her surrounds, coughing at the rough treatment of her lungs and esophagus. She looked at the ANBU and was satisfied with their hesitant nod. She laid her hand on their forearm, gentle and kind as she gathered her wits and strength. Her boy came first, for her. To this woman, there was no other way to be. 

Sakumo knew this was the only solution, the only way to save his wife, to give his son a chance. 

He would do anything to get them that same level of fierce care. 

Anything. 

Even if it meant fighting the council. 

So. Be. It. 

The ANBU was still shaking, heart hammering and legs jelly. The Hoshigake that had been aiming for Hamada-sama was gone already, leaving naught but a dispersing blood trail. He could track him, could take him down, but he was not at his best anymore than the Hoshigake. It would either be a war of attrition or a fight that would see both too injured/shaken to give it half their attention and would as likely kill themselves as each other. 

He let it go. 

Trying to make his way to his commanding officer, he fell to the floor once within the excessively secure office, his chakra allowing him through. His legs wouldn’t hold him up. They felt weak and useless and he should cleanse his aura, but he was having more trouble doing so the longer he waited. It felt crippling. It felt terrifying. 

Two heavy hands on his shoulders had him flinching before a wave of chakra flushed through him, twisting around his brain and nerves until it snuffed the aura of Hamada-sama from him entirely. He felt bereft for a moment until his body settled and his nerves stopped misfiring. 

“Bear, report.” 

Pulling himself into seiza, Bear bowed. “Hamada-sama learned to water walk today so she may shop for groceries. On the way back from her errand, she met and allowed Hatake-sama and his wife and son to come with her. Nara Mozu was her visible escort and behind Hamada-sama when a Hoshigake appeared from the water.” 

He stopped to shiver at the mere memory. “Nara Mozu… was captured instead of Hamada-sama. She.” He took a deep breath. “She gave Intent and followed with speed I had not realized she could achieve. It was… frightening because she had caused everyone in the vicinity with the exception of Hatake-san and her son to be incompacitated. By the time we had arrived, she had freed Nara Mozu from the Hoshigake and was giving him complications.” 

He didn’t know how to express watching a woman usually so soft and tender go berserk, go  _ feral _ with rage.  _ Protective _ rage. How she had torn into a man two or three heads taller than herself and made him fall into a stupor out of sheer tenacity and cleverness. 

How she had shown just why their boss was considering labeling her with a fucking Bijū-class warning. 

“May I show you through genjustsu, Yamanaka-sama, Nara-sama?” 

The two shared a look and nodded. ANBU Bear was quick to do so, shivering as the memory and sensations played through his head again. When he finished, the two were pale, silent, and contemplative. Maybe this was just a one off. Maybe this wouldn’t be possible again. They couldn’t take that chance. 

“She went after a Hoshigake. Sweet mother of kami.” 

“Dismissed.” 

Bear had never left so fast in his life. 

Nara Shikatsu contemplated everything they had just seen. It didn’t seem possible, it didn’t feel real, but Hamada Akio just lived to prove them wrong. Even when she was being carried, half drowned and exhausted, she had an aura about her. The two shared a look. 

“I’ll give her the warning title. What do we put?” 

Shika shook his head, fingers touching just so. “Caution: Do not fuck with what’s hers? Maybe something like: Try not to piss her off? Or even: If you value your balls, don’t do it?” 

Inomaru snorted a laugh. “I got one. Caution: Unknown bloodline, treat with extreme caution.” 

Fuck but this was just… just great. Shikatsu also resolved to keep his wife very far away from the mystery-problem. He did not need her getting  _ tips  _ on how to wrangle his lazy ass. 

“Seriously, what now?” 

Inomaru sighed. “We figure out where Hoshigake came from and why. Before she comes down on that village like the wrath of kami.” 

Good plan, good plan. There was just one problem. Hamada Akio herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Discord is still open](https://discord.gg/4dCN72X)


	24. ANBU/ROOT, Realizations, Unreal Luck

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR 

“Akio-sama,” Keiko crooned as she held her nursing son. “Your hands.” 

It was two days past when Mozu had been attacked in her place. The boy was still laid out with pain but healing well, cracking jokes and grimacing when he laughed. The bite in his hip was gruesome, jagged edges and all. It didn’t affect his ability to bend or stretch, thankfully, but it hurt in the cool air and the scar edge was a thick ridge tucked into another fold of skin. It looked like a shark bite in miniature. They even retrieved a tooth, shark-like and unreal. 

Akio may have, might have, possibly have burnt her fingertips as if she had stuck them into a light socket with her last ditch effort against the shark man. They were healing but it wasn’t fast or elegant. It was quite frustrating, in reality. Her hands had trouble holding things as the nerves misfired, bending them was exhaustive and painful, and for some reason, her temples throbbed in a low grade migraine that made her light sensitive and caused smells to sharpen randomly to the point that she had only eaten rice and plain steamed vegetables. Without salt. 

Akio hadn’t  _ forgotten _ she had hurt herself with that last stunt so much as she was too stubborn for her own good and kept trying to do things. If no one else, Akio could admit she was stubborn to the point of stupid to herself sometimes. That’s why Keiko-san had called her out like that. And why Akio allowed it, growling and grumbling when she was regulated to being what amounted to a hall monitor in her own place. She was terrible at sitting idle. 

Honestly, she hadn’t intended to have the notorious family live with her. Her father’s side of the family denied all allegations of being Hatake despite the white hair that was common along with the pristine pale complexion that had helped them marry up into the nobility nearly three generations ago. If Akio was related at all, it was so distant as to be inconsequential. 

She had no idea what they would want from her as an Alpha—she was, she would state time and again, just a simple farmer. She had no business being the one people looked to for guidance. She had children to care for and animals to wrangle. 

Oh shit. 

She forgot the cows. 

“Oh shit.” 

Many a brow went up because Akio was very firm about cursing in front of children. “I forgot the cows.” 

Mozu laughed, choking when it hurt but then doing it anyway. Frowning at him, she carefully crossed her arms in a defensive posture. “Stop laughing. I forget things. It happens.” 

ANBU appearing had Akio looking at the figure calmly, ignoring her fawn losing his damned mind. The figure bowed, motioning clearly for her benefit for another figure to appear. This one had a blank mask, a much smaller body, and carried the aura of a broken soul. Akio had to keep herself from wrapping her arms around the literal child, her heart tightening in her breasts. 

“Bear, you’re playing a very dangerous game. That is a child and if this is what I think it is, you had best be prepared for me to raise hell fire and brimstone.” She took a deep breath, all hilarity leaving her. Thankfully, most of the children were down for naps in the upstairs storage after having set up forts and making enemies before snack time. She had a bit of wiggle room to allow her frustrations to vent. “And if I catch that sonnuvabitch, I’ll be sure to remove his hands and his tongue.” 

The smaller figure jerked as if slapped and Akio grit her teeth to force herself still. She was the adult - the well adjusted, sensible adult - and she needed to be that so much right now that it hurt. She had to be logical and cool and that was not her way, but she could fake it. 

“Hamada-sama,” murmured the child, bowing. “Bear asked me to heal you.” 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Plot twist. She sucked in breath and looked through the porcelain cutouts to deadly, soulless eyes. Something was there, a spark, and that would be all she needed, but the rumors of someone dying without due cause stayed her hand because those kinds of rumors weren’t just for fun. 

A lot of those someones were barely older than Mozu. Some of them were  _ much _ younger. Swallowing bile, Akio held out her hands. “Yes, little one. I trust you. Please take care of me.” 

It was a gamble. A deadly, dangerous gamble, but she would rather try and fail than not try at all and fail entirely. This child  _ needed _ someone, anyone, to care. Her broken, bleeding heart would dry up sooner than she would turn anyone truly in need away. 

The child was swift, hands unwrapping the swaddling about her fingers with precision and ease. What was uncovered caused them to pause. The blackened nails that had yet to fall off sitting on top of swollen, split flesh, oozing fresh blood and clear fluid as the exposed innards of her fingers protested was a… sight. Miraculously, it was healing. Frustrating that it was slow, but healing was healing and she wanted to use her hands. 

“Hamada-sama,” the voice rebuked gently. She smiled a bit. 

“So, don’t channel lightning through your hands while underwater. I did it as a last ditch effort to  _ hurt _ that bastard, but I may have gone overboard.” She didn’t flex her hands despite the urge. She waited, calm as the child gathered themselves from the shock. “Also, I believe he’ll understand to not attack children here. I hit him hard enough with this that he literally froze.” 

There were a few choked off laughs, the child staring before asking their head. She just smiled beautifically, wiggling her hands. The child eventually took one, starting at the wrist and coming down the limb, her hand tingling with television static against her bones. It felt serious and curious and nothing else. She poked at it with her new found superpowers and the child looked at her, head shooting up in astonishment. She shrugged lightly. 

“You’re far too serious, little one. If you ever need anything, for any reason, you can always come here. Even just for a moment of… well, quiet isn’t the right word, but there won’t be judgement. Ever.” 

They take a long moment before nodding, slow and hesitant. She didn’t say anything after that, allowing the literal child soldier to do what they needed to. She watched as her flesh started to pale, her tendons and meat reaching for each other, connecting as if nothing had happened at all. Her bones cooled, the earth within smoothing out instantly once covered by the rest of her. Water rushed through them, lightning tickling. Bending her fingers, she smiled softly at the precious child, her heart aching, her arms to remain empty. 

“Thank you, precious. This is much better.” 

They hesitated again, tilting their head before cautiously sidestepping and going to Mozu, the fawn giving her a serious stare. She winked at him, his entire demeanor changing from business-like to playful with a snort. He didn’t flinch when small hands pushed his clothes out of the way to access his injury, the red soon fading and the meat smoothing out and plumping despite the ridge of scarring. Once done, the small figure bowed, glanced at Akio, and then left as swiftly as they appeared. 

Turning to Bear, she tilted her head. “Is the babe gone?” They nodded. “Oh. Good.” 

She leaned over her crossed legs, hair hiding her from view, and started to cry. 

Keiko felt her heart break in new and interesting ways for the young woman she was trying to ease into being their Alpha. She had seen this before with her Pack, back before she mated the soft, sweet wolf she claimed. Akio-sama was a Mother  _ first, _ Alpha second, and ferocious Warrior third. Most of those overlapped, but this inability to just take any pup into her den must ache something terrible. 

Moving closer, Keiko hesitated before putting her hand on those bowed shoulders, grief thick like molasses in Snow Country. Another hand was on the other side, the strange fawn, comfortable in the den of his natural predator, giving comfort. Only his was more like a full body flop onto the back of the woman between them. The Alpha allowed it, welcomed it as she sat up some, enough to card her fingers through his wild hair. Keiko felt inspired and pressed her tiny son into the other arm. 

Akio-sama startled, looking up. Until that moment, Keiko hadn’t realized she had been hoarding her son away. The look of soft acceptance and awe on that grieved face stilled any explanation of why on her tongue. This young Alpha, this young woman, this  _ mother _ would understand better than any other person of this plane of existence. There were just somethings and someones that weren’t to be shared without due thought. 

Cradling the small infant to her chest with her arm, Akio-sama gazed upon him with such gentle adoration that Keiko realized  _ she _ hadn’t been able to look at him like that. Had been too broken and hurt and distant. She had, somehow,  _ blamed _ him for every misfortune. Laying on her side against the young woman, she watched from the edges of Akio-sama’s crossed ankles as the young woman taught her without words what the love of a mother was like. How selfless, how painful and wide open it was,  _ inviting _ pain with understanding. 

Something had to change within, she started to understand. Something had to be let go and she had to soften herself to change. Keiko had to be selfless. How terrifying. 

Looking at the nearly glowing look of such absolute love on such a young face, she thought,  _ how wonderful. _

Somewhere in Kiri, a very tall, very blue shark-like man endured his sister’s scorn and amusement. He also endured being put on medical leave due to the fact that he had sustained a heart attack. The right side of his face didn’t function correctly anymore either, though it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, he was told. His tiny sister-in-law smirked as she pet her rounded belly, his brother behind her and leering. 

“So, who did it? I thought this was, and I quote:  _ So easy a baby genin could do it. _ What happened, eh?” 

Scowling at them all, he dabbed more iodine on the lacerations over his cheek and eyebrow, his chest and neck. A perfect set of teeth marks adorned his adam's apple in vivid red. “It was a little civilian woman. I fucked up. I kept a hold of the kid instead of going after the target.” He pointed at them through the mirror. “Don’t fuck with an Alpha Bitch, assholes. She’s fucking  _ vicious. _ I’m lucky to be alive.” 

The laughter got sucked out of the room. 

“... Are you serious?” 

Snorting, the maligned man rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Kinda hard to make that shit up. Scariest woman I ever met, and I’m including Mother.” 

Looks were shared between them. They didn’t lie in this family and their brother, while a dumbass, wasn’t one to do it even to save face. If this was true, they needed to start spreading the word. No one wanted to fuck with an Alpha Bitch. Not unless they were suicidal. Or just that fucking stupid, but at that point, it was a cleansing of the gene pool. 

“Alright then. This went from hilarious misinformation to straight up terrifying because that  _ was _ a civilian. Any kind of training at all and you’d be dead.” 

“She  _ was _ walking on water, but I honestly didn’t think too hard about it.” 

“Oh kami, she should have just killed you and got it over with!” 

“Shut up, cunt!” 

“Whore!” 

“Gutter nut!” 

The pregnant woman, the only one with pale skin, looked at her husband. “If my son has a mouth that foul, I will make you suffer.” 

“... Yes, ma’am.” 

Inomaru chewed on his brush hard enough that the Hashirama wood was splintering. Shikatsu was a smart man and didn’t comment. The subordinates were keeping their heads down, a wave of terror pulsing through their cubicles. Something momentous had happened and it wasn’t… well, it wasn’t great. 

Hamada Akio had been in contact and at the mercy of a ROOT member. Had made the shadow show more emotion in ten minutes than the entirety of the ANBU forces in ten months  _ combined. _ While being a  _ target, _ if the rumors were true. 

“How. The fuck,” the blond hissed, clenching hard enough to snap the brush between his molars. “How the  _ actual fuck _ does she  _ do this shit? _ What forsaken kami does she have in her pocket? Is her luck just  _ that _ insane?!” 

And before  _ that _ , just days ago, she had taken on a Hoshigake in his element and  _ won. _ With,  _ confirmed, _ less than a day of chakra training so she “could go shopping.” Was this what happened when a near fully developed brain started learning chakra techniques? Were they doing it all wrong all along? 

“Are we sure she isn’t Uzumaki?” 

A hush fell over the room. “I want everyone looking for a lineage scroll. Right now. Don’t stop until something pops up, am I clear?” 

The room scattered, glad for the chance to be anywhere but there. 


	25. The Day Before (becoming the day after), Lists and Letters, Author is Sorry-Not-Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Discord is still open](https://discord.gg/4dCN72X)

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE 

Sakumo wondered how he went from child wrangler to cow herder. Child wrangling was fun, kids crawling all over him, him scenting them seven ways to Sunday, and all the cuddles he could ask for. He was in heaven! 

Then he had been roped in by his wife from a nice nap to check the cows Akio-sama had in her possession. The eight young bulls were at the base of the Hokage Monument, grazing in the sheeting rain. The heifers were at the top of the monument, lowing in discomfort. Considering the closest thing to a barn they had was half filled with water, this was the lesser evil, but it honestly wasn’t much better. Akio had already laid out old plans for making an elevated barn - tricky with the weight distribution once cattle were added yet entirely plausible - and at least four grain silos. She had written off the one silo near the river as a sixty percent loss due to not having enough help to get the mysteriously appearing grains to a silo that could handle the floods. She still had plenty of seed for the growing season but all efforts would be put back into the farm and not sold. 

Being told how this would affect profits and the soy crop was… eye opening. 

So much went into farming. 

“Daydreaming, old man? I thought that was my schtick.” 

The young Nara mosied up to him, hands in his pockets and posture poor. Not terrible, however, since Akio had already whacked a few new kinks out of that young spine. “Trying to figure out what is good news and what isn’t.” 

The kid shrugged. “Kill a bull, take it back, and have a small feast. Give half to the Akimichi for patronizing Akio-baa in getting the beef while also getting a feel for the quality of meat.” The kid scrubbed a hand through damp hair, the short spikes standing like dandelion fluff around his face. “Other than that, I don’t know. This isn’t land Akio owns, but the flooding is keeping them trapped on the highest ground west of the property. If we get them back to the farm once the rains stop and we hire someone to move the water, it shouldn’t be a problem…” 

Sakumo was reminded that for all his youth, this kid was a genius like every Nara he had ever met. Well, kind of. Nara were intelligent as a _baseline,_ no telling what an actual genius would be like. Sponging up information from Akio who was more than willing to share her intellectual wealth was not at all surprising. 

“Sure, Nara-kun.” He rolled up his sleeves, loping across the water. “Let’s get her some food.” 

The young Nara grinned as he followed, showing teeth that seemed a bit out of place on the reportedly herbivorous clan. It was unusual to find eyeteeth that sharp on anyone not a Hatake, Uchiha, or Inuzuka. 

Stranger and stranger. 

Akio-sama kept surprising him...

Alright, so. She was ignoring that massive thing-problem-heartache for now. It was just a day after being healed and she was back on her bullshit. Kind of. Sakumo-kun and Mozu-kun were supposed to be back later that morning after having left the afternoon before. The Akimichi were kind enough to send a missive that they were feasting with the two after they had brought half a side of beef to them in payment for helping with the initial payment of the cattle. She smiled at the thought of her fawn and the wolf had been so thoughtful. 

“We need rice, noodles, and eggs,” she muttered as she wrote out her short list with an “ink pen.” She had forgotten what it was like to feed an army of toddlers - they were either little bottomless pits or ate like birds, no in between. They were also incredibly picky, which she did expect. She wasn’t going to go shopping _right now,_ she was just taking notes on what they preferred as a shopping list. Trying not to _think._

It wasn’t working. Ugh. 

“I need to contact the head of the Nara while I’m at it. Let him know what happened to Mozu-kun.” She tipped her head back and forth a few times, debating if she should send the boy with the missive or ask Sakumo-kun to do it. Maybe ask someone to _write_ the missive since she was missing several key characters to make it properly formal. “Ugh. _Ugh._ My head is _not_ in it today.” 

She was thinking about that small form in black with a porcelain face and a shattered heart. 

She _ached._

“Akio-sama…?” 

She blinked at nothing, flushing red when she realized she had been staring into space. For how long, she didn’t know, but the call of her name had the tone that it hadn’t been the first time. Or the second. Rubbing her hand over her face, she sighed. Oh. She had been holding her “pen” and it didn’t have a tiny ball bearing to keep it from dripping. She must look ridiculous. 

“Well. Drat.” 

Taking a cloth, she wiped her face. Keiko-chan bit her lip to keep from laughing but Akio saw it. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh. This is the seventh time I’ve done this.” Depositing the cloth on the writing board well away from her hand bound book, she sighed. “I’m… at a loss. May I ask you your, hm, perspective?” 

Keiko-chan seemed to turn to stone for a moment, eyes going wide and surprised. Akio felt immediately contrite and started to apologize until Keiko-chan held up her hand. “Just. Give me a moment. It has been… a while since my guidance was appreciated.” 

Akio knew that all too well and allowed the older woman to gather her thoughts. After a few minutes of emotional gymnastics, face broadcasting the barest depths, the pearlescent haired woman nodded, folding her hands into her lap. “Continue, Akio-sama.” 

Nodding back, the teen tapped her fingers together. “I need to make a missive to the Nara head to inform him of his relation’s injury. I need to make a formal thank you note to the Akimichi to show my appreciation. The bull was entirely inspired by Mozu-kun and Sakumo-kun and helps smooth the way. I am going to need some notes on the _Byakugan_ because Chihiro-chan is starting to experience it. I need more notes of the Sharingan because my kitten should be getting his by now. I might have to ask for a lineage scroll and that just smacks of entitled civilian and not concerned mother. I still need to commission a shrine built at the edge of the property, three raised silos, four raised barns that double as living quarters, _and_ survey the land to see what can be done.” Rubbing her eyes, she frowned. “I need to make a safe space for small babies in black and white, start a sexual education corner for everyone ten and older, and build a house big enough to care for toddlers while also helping the older children learn general child care.” 

Keiko-chan seemed aghast. “All of that?” 

Akio shrugged. “That’s the short list. The rest involve literal months and years.” 

The pale-haired woman bit her lip but didn’t say anything for a long moment. She seemed overwhelmed. Seeing as she knew the full list, Akio was no stranger to being under a mountain of shit that someone kept shoveling more shit on. Often times, it was _herself._

As Hermione Granger once told a boy: She had a saving people thing. 

She smiled at her… friend? Acquaintance? “It’s nothing so wild as _all_ of that, however. I just need to write letters and, well, while my vocal vocabulary is quite large, my knowledge of characters is pretty slim.” She twirled a loose strand of hair before tucking it into her messy bun. “I need someone to write appropriately formal letters to clan heads for various reasons.” 

Keiko-chan breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. That I can definitely do.” 

Bowing their heads together, the women set about creating the wording, characters flowing over the book pages, definitions in childish script out to the side as they became excited and sloppy. Akio felt accomplishment when she broke for lunch, making an easy curry from leftovers to feed her horde along with plain rice for every picky eater she now had under her guidance. After finishing the dishes, she dug around her mother’s things for origami paper, the nicest thing she had to write on. 

Ironically enough, she knew how to make many animals, though more from perseverance than true talent. It had once been a point of sulking, wounded pride when her brother Sha—pain slammed into her brow and she closed her eyes until she could think. 

Ow. 

Right. 

Names. 

Don’t think about it. She could… maybe, possibly do that. Hopefully. 

But _anyway…_

Letters. 

Carefully shifting festival kimono and accessories around and lifting out the only stationary box she had seen, she reverently removed the lacquered lid. Inside were three ink blocks, one black, one blue, and one a striking red. A small candle of gold dust meant to seal letters with a waxed stamp laid on the bottom, probably as expensive as her entire land combined. She gently moved them all to shift the thicker reed paper to find the beautiful block print squares her father had once bought her mother. Every year for their anniversary, they folded origami side by side, the memory of her brothers and herself staring at the intricate crafts with pride and envy a dear memory. 

The topmost was of the Hashirama Forest. The next several were of Ōkami, Susanoo, and Amaterasu. The ones on the bottom were koi and butterflies and scale patterns. They were all lovely but she needed to send missives in warning and pleasant thanks. Those required thought even if it would be on origami paper instead of proper missive paper. She was so tempted to use the hunting wolves because they were magnificent… but also, not good for a hopefully peaceful clan once the head heard why happened to one of his. 

Mozu was going to have an aneurysm. 

He would get over it. He was still a minor and his family did need confirmation of any possible dangers to him. 

(If she found the blue shark-man, no one would have to worry about it again. Cessation of a threat was always at the forefront of her reasoning.) 

In the end, she picked a lovely block print of the Hashirama in full spring bud, the pink of cherry blossom just seen at the edges of the limbs. Koi were picked for the Akimichi, the scene one of a child feeding them pellets. The red and orange reminded her of the clan so much that she couldn’t resist. 

Returning to Keiko-chan, she set them down. After using her best calligraphy with the guidance of the older woman, she allowed them to dry before folding first one then the other. Keiko-chan laughed delightedly. Winking at the woman who was regaining color bit by bit, the two checked their small sons before starting on an elaborate supper—at least, elaborate by Keiko-chan’s estimation. Akio grinned because this was just standard fare. 

It wasn’t long after that when their missing boys showed up, Sakumo looking hungover from hell and Mozu kept side eyeing everyone and everything. 

“Have fun?” 

Her fawn gave her the deadest stare he could. “Once, I knew what fun was. Now, I’m just traumatized.” 

Snickering, the young woman directed them all to the Wanpaku sandwiches, the children eating rice and curry leftovers. Nothing that healthy for them! No way, no how! 

Akio sighed happily as she watched them all partake, her heart feeling full to bursting. Tomorrow would be another day, but she had right now. 

She hoped it stayed that way. 

Inomaru was not crying. He _wasn’t._ He just… was very tired. And low on coffee. The entire family history of Hamada Akio and her mother were wrapped up in so much red tape even the _Hokage_ was having trouble putting his hands on it. The family scroll predated Konohagakure by a fair margin and one of the stipulations for the matriarchal clan joining was having their lineage hidden away from those who would see it used against them, even leaders of the village. Only the Daimyo could rescind the order, and even then he would have to speak with the Matriarch directly. It was _insane._ They were ninja, it shouldn’t be this _hard._

Shikatsu rubbed his jaw with That Look on his face. “That’s so simple as to be too clever. The Matriarch would have to travel all the… way to the _capital._ A clan known for women who would rend the mountains in defense of their young would have to go agreeably. A direct assault on a woman not wishing to go would destroy platoons of samurai. Having a ticking time bomb in a place with the nobility would be uncomfortable at _best_ for the Daimyo.” 

There was a hush as the room listened. “Those clever Bitches.” Shikatsu started to laugh, head tilted back as he cackled. Inomaru snarled at the man, the sound of his triumph too loud. He was fucking _tired._ “Ah, quit whining, you blond baby.” 

Inomaru was totally within his rights when he tackled his best friend out of his chair. _Totally._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Due to the fact that I’ve been looking at the map ALL WRONG, I went back and fixed the placement of the cattle in comparison to Akio’s land. She owns a lot of the north and east land. Her property crosses the Naka that runs through Konohagakure and spans from the far west base of the monument to nearly the easternmost side of the outer wall.


	26. Letters, Origami, Misinterpretations, and Happiness Found

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX 

Morning brought with it Akio sending Sakumo out like an errand boy, grinning at him as she handed over both origami notes. “It’s not technically how things are done,” she muttered, “but why not be eccentric, hm?” 

He laughed, head thrown back, and his wife peered around the early risers to stare at her husband hungrily. Akio didn’t say anything, didn’t even hum, but realized the large one room living quarters weren’t going to cut it. Staring out into the rain, she sighed. She could either wait or pay handsomely for a new house to be built. She… didn’t exactly have funds for that, did she. Something to ponder over while she waited to visit Kaede-ji-san. 

Then again. 

Once Sakumo-kun was out of earshot - even for his vaunted ancestry - Akio patted the mat beside her when she made eye contact with Keiko-chan. Once the older woman was settled, the black-haired young woman tilted her head. “Keiko-chan, I believe you and your husband deserve a house of your own.” She noticed the woman stiffening beside her and patted her knee. “Oh, calm now. I’m not kicking you out. In fact, I’m trying to give you two space so you can be intimate in seclusion. Throwing hungry looks like that around concerns me for the children’s sake. Most are much too young to be walking in on that.” 

The woman abruptly burst into giggles, snorting when she tried to hold them back. Akio grinned, poking her friend in the side. That was all it took before the woman was laughing so hard, Keiko-chan descended into hoarse cackles, laughing so high that only the dogs got to appreciate the sounds. Akio watched tears spring into those eyes and stream down reddening cheeks. When she tumbled back, kicking her legs as she held her belly, Akio started laughing as well, much softer but incredibly fond. 

Several small little faces peered at them from over their bowls, Mozu-kun rolling his eyes as he hid a small grin of his own by turning back to the rice bowl and dishing up another serving for another toddler. An array of cut fruit filled the area around the bigger bowl that the toddlers picked from like little birds. Akio had been proud of herself for thinking of that. 

Further inside was Juhi the eldest boy, sewing slowly but neatly, mending elbows and seams. Beside him, untangling thread, was Kira, maybe ten and chubby cheeked. Kaguya was beside Kira, working wonders with embroidery in a handheld loom as if she hadn’t just been taught how. Nana worked on prepping food for the lunch that was but hours away. Some of the older kids had gone back to the village after a few days, unwilling to give up privacy or sexual acts within Akio’s house. Seeing as one of those that had gone off had been  _ fourteen, _ she felt justified. One couldn’t please the whole village, after all. 

(She still felt sad. Felt responsible. They were just  _ kids… _ ) 

Once Keiko-chan calmed down, she smiled at Akio, chest heaving and eyes all but stars within her beautiful face. Kitten and Chihiro looked at them from their seat on the ceiling, chakra holding their butts to the wooden planks. Akio stuck her tongue out at them, getting the same treatment in response from both before they went back to ignoring the adults. Also? Wonder of wonders, she had been able to clean the puppy prints that went all over the walls and ceiling. 

“Better?” 

Keiko-chan nodded, catching her breath. Taking her hand and patting the back of it, Akio smiled gently. “I hope you didn’t think I was kicking you out. It’s just, hm, you’re married to an exceptionally handsome man with only one child who is close to weaning age. I am far from surprised you want to have time with him, but it is crowded and there are far too many littles for that to be feasible.” 

The pearlescent haired woman blushed, smiling right back, all tender and happy. “You want us?” 

That felt… loaded. Filled with something heavier than mere words. Intent laced through the air, tightening as Akio pulled the strings. Like she would ever tell this woman or her husband that she didn’t want them. There was something there that she didn’t understand, but that just meant she had to learn. “Of course I want you, Keiko-chan. You and Sakumo-kun both are a part of this family now.” She leaned her cheek on their clasped hands. “I couldn’t stand it without you two. I already love you, you know, and there’s no going back now.” 

Akio didn’t even get to make a sound as she was tackled by a happy Hakate. 

Sakumo delivered the Nara their deer origami first, the shine of interest from the clan head gratifying. Akio-sama was  _ interesting  _ and clever and just all around wonderful! Of course others should be interested in her too! 

In moderation. 

The koi was not only well received but well adored by the Akimichi who had almost roped him into another celebration. He had ducked out with a demure bow and a quick exit, running for the hills once freed from their clutches. Not today, Akimichi! If a few fellow nin had laughed at him or nodded in commiseration, well… they understood. 

All but dancing through the village, gathering a list of groceries from his wife who had laughed and was  _ playful _ and just so gosh darned  _ gorgeous _ as she talked with their little Alpha, he made a note to visit Inomaru to thank him. Thank him for mentioning the woman, for such vested interest, for calling on him. Sure, she was his third cousin six or nine times removed (the lineage papers were… muddled some) and technically they weren’t even related anymore, but he was happy. His wife was  _ thriving _ after having been a ghost. His son was thriving, growing like a weed and now wiggling around and trying to crawl even as Akio-sama teased him with tickles and the tips of her hair. 

He could take flight with joy! 

Oh, and all those pups! So ready to play and cuddle, big eyes staring at him with awe and love. Not to mention that several nindogs thought to have gone off to die from the Inuzuka were now under her tender care. Ninja, dogs or no, would never subject themselves to being under the thumb of a tyrant or cruel person on personal time. That two thirds of the Pack were “retired” ninja was telling. 

He sighed happily, spying pretty matching yukata in the window that would look lovely on his wife and Alpha. Grinning, the man all but swanned into the boutique. It was past time he splurged on presents. 

The head of the Akimichi was surprised when he received an origami koi from a clansman. The man bowed himself out as 摘 Tsuma held the delicate folded paper in his palm. It was a missive, that much he knew, but the lines, while amateurish, were well done and the folds crisp. It made him wish to keep it as it was, not wanting to ruin the heft of delicate seams or crease it where there had been no crease before. Yet, he needed to read the missive. 

Hamada Akio was a clever, dangerous woman, forcing him to choose. While legions of folded boar were teasingly left out for his clansmen, seldom did someone think of them with hearts delicate enough to enjoy and adore the finer arts and the soft origami. And on such fine woodblock print! He wished to see the picture, too. It was enticing with what glimpses he had. 

“It will not unfold itself and read the words for you, husband,” teased his wife, her thick, voluptuous body causing his blood to rise before he forced it back down. “Come on. Open it, my darling.” 

Taking her hand as she walked up, he kissed her fingers, looking at her through his lashes as she blushed prettily. The woman he adored beyond all others grinned, her other hand coming up to curl just behind his ear, tugging  _ just so. _ Fine shivers worked down his spine before she let go. 

“If you’re quick, we could slip away for a time.” 

By the kami, she was enticing. “Of course, my love.” 

He started to unfold the labors of another woman he hadn’t even met, the paper unwinding like a soft sigh. The first thing he saw was a picture of a child feeding koi. Dark-haired and small, the image showed little fingers dipping in the water to be nibbled by large, almost imposing carp with ribbons of winsome fins trailing the paper. They were red and orange and white, standing out in vivid color where otherwise everything was a dulled green, brown, or black. They dominated the image, the child barely taking up a corner. 

It felt like it represented the relationship the Akimichi had with Hamada-chan. It felt a bit overwhelming because if this was how she saw them, then that meant she felt insignificant compared to them. She had no clan name, boasted neither colors nor vibrancy, and was young, small, and recently orphaned. Yet, she fed them. 

His heart felt a little too tight at the implications. 

“What beautiful woodblock. Yet what a sorry presentation we have given, my darling, if that is how she feels.” 

He felt gladdened when his wife put her hands on his shoulders, standing behind him so that he may rest back against her swell of breasts, the swell of her belly quickened with child again. The image presented was heartbreaking to him. How had the loving, jovial clan become some great, untouchable beasts to a young woman barely beyond childhood? Did they do this with the rest of the village as well? Had they become so disconnected? 

If they had, it was time they changed it. 

Taking a deep breath, he turned the missive over, the characters on the page beautiful and careful. As he read, he felt something warm yet sorrowful fill him. To be thanked for their generosity - for their  _ mistake.  _ This young woman was too kind, too generous. Even when he had failed her through inaction and ignorance. Chosu-kun had the best intentions but was still just a young man of twenty. Once he was more aware of his mistakes, he would be taking over, but he had to understand the people more. Tsuma was tired of being regent for his nephew with his elder brother gone on to their ancestors. 

He would have his clansmen check the silo they had been filling, perhaps parley with the young woman at her home, let her have the advantage. 

“Masaki, what do you say to meeting with Hamada-san this spring once the rains are done?” 

She just smiled, leaning down until she could whisper in his ear. “That sounds wonderful, my husband.  _ Aishiteru.” _

Tsuma blushed and dropped the paper, his wife winking at him as she sashayed from the room like the goddess she was. She was going to give him a heart attack with that kind of talk! 

He wasn’t sure he minded. 

Shikatsu looked at the small origami deer in his hands, blinking at his amused wife. She didn’t say a word, just ate her food and watched him agonize over the paper. When he finally got around to opening it, gently because he hadn’t known origami dear existed, he felt shock. Glancing at papers, he could read them near instantly, which was why he preferred games to books. Books he could devour in a matter of hours, yet games could keep him interested for days. The curse of being a literal genius. 

“Nemuri,” he stated, handing the paper over, barely taking time to notice the print, Hashirama trees with Sakura blossoms, appropriate for their clan but not this kind of missive. Once his wife had read it, she looked as enraged as he felt  _ he _ should feel but was incapable of outside of his close circle. He was too logical and his wife understood that she was as much an advisor as a companion. There wasn’t love within their marriage but understanding. They were partners that made decisions based on appropriate responses and logic. 

She was his emotional response to things that deserved something more than cold logic. 

“We should set up a meeting with this… Hamada-san as soon as is feasible. Perhaps somewhere neutral or within her own home. That a Hoshigaki would attack a child just outside our territory is infuriating. We should retaliate.” 

Shikatsu bowed his head minutely, acknowledging his wife. Yes. That sounded adequate. Mostly. “We can’t start a feud with the Hoshigaki as yet, Nemuri. It might have been mistaken identity.” 

She simmered but calmed. “That’s what you think. I give it a month before Hamada-san takes care of it.” 

“She has two unweaned infants.” 

“Four months, then.” 

Shikatsu smirked at his wife, feeling proud of her. He may not understand love but he did like his wily, clever wife. He may not be all that interested is her or sex or anything of that nature, but he had come to appreciate the hand he was dealt. He was lucky. 

Inomaru sighed as he took the papers his gofer brought him, the chunin bowing himself out of the room. It was Clan paperwork, forms that transferred legal head duties from one to another. It was difficult to do so, needing blood relationship and signatures from all parties with a total of three witnesses for each signer. It wasn’t a quiet process and one that could be contested by the Shinobi council and the Hokage. All final forms had to be run by the Daimyo along with a personal visit to the capital. 

After that, the forms had to be in triplicate for the clan, the Hokage, the Shinobi council,  _ and _ the Daimyo. It was a very involved, very lengthy, very annoying process. Inomaru was being nice and helping Sakumo out because, to be honest, that man had been high strung so long that he was surprised the man was able to smile much less laugh at all. That and he was avoiding his wife. 

“She wants another child. Merciful kami, no.” 

He hoped she would simmer down soon. 

Until then, paperwork. 

Keiko met her husband in the genkan, ignoring the bags falling as she wrapped herself around him and kissed him hard enough to curl his toes. Smirking at him, she body-flickered them to their bed back inside the compound. “Akio-sama was correct. We need our own house.” 

Her husband didn’t get to say anything to that before Keiko was baring him down to the futon, the slightly musty smell ignored in favor of her taking his clothes off. For a while after that, neither one spoke. 

Laying on his chest some time later, Keiko hummed as she snuggled skin-to-skin with her husband. He seemed relaxed and happy and she was  _ glad. _ For the first time in months, she wanted her husband to be happy. She wanted her  _ son _ to be happy. 

Kissing his chest, she leaned up on her elbow. “So.” 

Sakumo looked at her and grinned, running one calloused hand down her side to her buttocks, his large hot palm holding a palmful. He squeezed and she bit her lip as things inside her belly flared with hunger again. “So.” 

“Akio-sama has decided. We are Pack,  _ anata. _ She said it to me. She said she loves us.” 

He threw his head back and howled with joy, Keiko soon to follow. Though no other howls answered, they were happy. Flipping them, Sakumo pressed against Keiko, her husband settling into her cradle with ease and long time comfort. “Are… are you sure?” 

She smiled, small and happy and beautiful. “Yes. She  _ loves _ us. She  _ wants _ us. She is  _ keeping _ us.” 

He leaned down to kiss her, a low whine in his throat giving way to a groan as her hands set to work. She giggled into the kisses, tightening her legs. Maybe she wouldn’t mind another puppy after all… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH, y’all need to tell me when I miss something! I had such a typo, good heavens!!!


	27. Wrong Conclusions, Sick Leave, Marshaling the Forces, Behind the Scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGL, I made myself cry with this one. It's... hm. It's not triggering, I don't think, but miscommunication leads us there.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN 

Akio smiled as the Hatake couple showed back up the next morning, rain still falling and an umbrella much too small over them as they walked in tandem with each other. They looked relaxed, happy and calm. With the light just touching the horizon, she mused that they would be all smoochy and couple-y all day. Not a terrible way to be but she wouldn’t get much out of them. Good thing she didn’t mind caring for Kakashi along with her two. He had taken a few days to properly warm up to her before he would even nurse but there were worse habits to be born with. 

Petting the fluffy dandelion hair as said infant nursed from her breast, Akio sat comfortably with both Hanzō and Akira in the bowl of her legs, Chihiro using her thigh as a pillow with Himiko using him as a teddy bear. Most of the toddlers were still wary of Akio, willing to ask the older children for help but so very hesitant with her. She understood, a little, and it made her whole chest feel tight, like she couldn’t breathe sometimes. 

(If she caught wind of whatever adult had made those babies afraid… well, they had best have a will. She wasn’t going to hold back. These were literal babies, fucking _dammit_ all!) 

Keiko-chan all but floated into the house, leaving her shoes in the shoe rack and donning an apron. Sakumo wandered over, eyes a bit dazed and hazy, tracking his wife as she hummed a jaunty tune under her breath and started breakfast. Akio waved her hand in front of his face twice before she snorted with amusement. Keiko-chan must have ridden him hard enough to crack that fragile little brain pan and then put him up wet and horny. Giggling to herself at the mental image (and ignoring how any image with either one had her going a _tiny bit_ breathless) she smiled warmly. 

Those two were so cute! 

She was glad that she wasn’t going to have to _deal_ with her own hormones until twenty-one. Her mother had once said it was a very special trait of their own. Sure, her parents had been looking for a husband, but being engaged for years was not uncommon nor unexpected. 

(The pangs in her heart were not as bad this time. Not like when just thinking about them once left her breathless with sorrow.) 

And, as always, the rain came down. 

And the rain kept coming. 

Akio hummed to herself, stroking the back of Kakashi as she pottered around the kitchen. It continued to rain, the ground so saturated even in the village that water was standing ankle deep. Keiko and Sakumo, her friends and family, held hands as they went over floor plans. _Her_ floor plans for various houses with the traditional roofing and outer walls, but very different interiors. 

Akira squirmed in his sling between her breasts, large enough to want to be in on all the action. Hanzō was wiggling along around her feet and every shuffle was a delicate line of _don't step on the baby._

It had been two months since Keiko and Sakumo had vanished for a night, and every night after for a solid seven weeks. Keiko was definitely pregnant again, the dogs reacting like sentries around her and even Akio was able to smell some kind of shift in her, not to mention how the woman’s chakra changed around two weeks ago when a smaller one tucked itself inside it. 

Mozu whined about asshole adults and sex so much, she had started him on checking the roof. _Daily._ No need to worry about leaks too, is there? 

He often went on village runs as well, now. He had become proficient with sealing scrolls and shopping, haggling over prices with a viciousness that made many a vendor snap right back. Watching him swing back in, Akio pressed her flour covered fingers to her mouth, trying not to laugh at his expression. He was absolutely soaked, hair longer now and pulled back in the common style for his clan even as smaller tufts poked up between longer strands. When free, his hair resembled a dandelion fluff, much like itty bitty Kakashi’s hair. She adored him, really, even when he was doing that teenage angst thing. 

Oh, and somehow Akio turned eighteen and hadn’t noticed. Somewhere in all that stuff. Her mother always celebrated her age at the harvest festival but the rain this year was phenomenal. There had been no festival with fireworks and games and food this year. So. She forgot. Everything her father had once had transferred to her out of Kaede’s safe hands. She didn’t know what any of it was, only that she received a message from one very miserable Genin that she had dried out, fed, and handed an umbrella for the way back. 

“Go dry off, Mozukun,” she managed to say with a straight face. He slouched off, not dripping because of chakra nonsense more than anything. Clever, clever boy. Still not off roof duty. There was no need to be rude to Keiko or Sakumo because they were married adults in love. 

And lust. 

Ahem. 

Moving on. 

She would have to sit down and have a talk about that, to be strictly honest. It was something that worried at her and made her fret in the dead of night. She knew she was stepping in where his mother (or father _should have,_ dammit) when it came to explaining what was going on. She didn’t know where on the spectrum he fell, but she did know that he was exhibiting some classic behaviors and jealousy. Perfectly natural and fairly common for a hormone laden teenager. 

Finishing her prep, rice on the steamer, she shuffled around Hanzō to lay Kakashi and Akira in a pile, hurrying to put Hanzō with them before he pulled up on the edge of a drawer. Curious, tiring child. Once all three were in a circle of folded futons and out of the direct walkway, toddlers were adjusted in the hammocks she had fashioned from sheets, and the dogs alerted to what she needed, Akio smoothed her hands down her apron. 

Ugh. She did not want to do this. 

Locating Mozu wasn’t difficult - the house was _small_ for the amount of people in it. Standing outside the showers she had made sure to install, she leaned against the door jamb. “We need to talk, fawn.” 

The heated water rained lightly and she knew he heard her. She waited until he eventually turned everything off, sighing. “Well… I don’t want to.” 

Pursing her lips to keep her frown back, she took a deep breath through her nose. She was the adult. They needed to talk. This was non negotiable. “You don’t have a choice. There are too many people in this house for you to be petty and cruel, Mozukun. That means we will talk.” 

An angry huff came from the showerstall, the boy coming out with his comfortable work clothes on, the very first ones she fixed for him. A towel wrapped his neck to keep his dripping hair off his neck. “The hell it does.” 

Now there was a frown. Unimpressed with his infantile behavior, she followed him as he moved to the genkan. “You can’t just run away. This is called communication and being transparent with the people you live and work with, Mozu. This helps prevent fights and resentment. Talk to me.” 

“No,” he bit out, jamming his feet into his sandals. Ninja sandals. Dammit. “I am perfectly fine ignoring it and you should fucking back off. It’s not hurting anybody.” 

“Mozu, _language,”_ she hissed, temper shortening faster and faster as he spoke and put her off and ignored all the signals that this was going to implode if they didn’t take steps now. “And it _is_ hurting people. You. The Hatakes. The children who may see us fighting because you have this awful habit of running from your problems instead of confronting them and laying them to rest.” 

She took a breath but didn’t say _and me._

“What do _you_ know, huh?” He snarled as he turned towards her, sandals on and teeth bared as he stood. “You’re just some, some _civilian_ who doesn’t understand what being a ninja is. You don't get being forced to do what you don’t want to do! You don’t get _any OF IT!_ I am a clansman and you’re just some nosy bitch who can’t leave well enough alone!” 

His chest heaved and his eyes looked wild but all she could feel was hurt. “You just, just, I don’t know, play with babies and fuck around with plants and take in any stray and you just play with them and pet them and what does that accomplish? What does any of this shit do except fuck you over? You don’t have anything worth a damn and you keep giving out bits and pieces anyway! What motives do you have? What _plan_ are you stewing away? This? This right here? Isn’t _real!_ What kind of illusion are you painting?” 

Oh. 

Mozu heaved as he stood in the door, face red and eyes angry. His shadow writhed like eels over the floor, barely contained. Akio had to either calm him down or get him out of the house before he hurt one of the toddlers. 

“Mozu, I don’t know what you think is going on, but I think we do need that talk. Maybe not right now, but… are you okay?” 

The teen stared at her. He stared and stared before turning, shadow turning to claws. He marched into the rain and Akio couldn’t let that go. She stepped out onto the water with her rudimentary skills, walking after him. Rain plastered her hair to her back in an instant, the chill going to the bone in seconds. She didn’t care. She quickened her pace, trying to walk with him. He sped up. She jogged forward and he sprinted. 

“STOP! JUST STOP!” 

He turned in the rain to bellow at her, a bull elk instead of some small deer buck. “WHY DO YOU TRY SO HARD? WHY DID YOU EVEN HELP ME?” 

Akio didn’t know how to answer. Because he had needed it. Because she had been sleep deprived and that had been her first (only) solution at the time? Because he was a stupid kid and deserved to try? “Because you matter.” The words were thick and her voice trembled because he had _hurt_ her, had hurled words sharper than any blade right into her heart. Yet, she loved him. He was a brother and friend and she thought they had some kind of understanding. “Because it was the right thing to do. Because you’re a _kid_ expected to be an adult and I thought you deserved a better chance.” 

He stared at her, face going hard and sharp and broken. “Yeah, well. Shows what you know.” 

He turned again, walking away. 

Akio stood on the water and reached for him through the rain. “Please… Mozu, tell me what have I done?” 

He didn’t answer and she was too hurt to try and keep going after him. That’s when the pain turned to anger. That’s when it ignited into a fast burning gas fire. She grit her teeth and raced after him. He didn’t get out of the way of her shoulder checking him, voice cracking. 

“WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU? I HAVE NEVER ONCE ASKED FOR MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR DEAL IS, BUT YOU NEED TO GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND GET OVER IT. RIGHT THE FUCK _NOW!”_

He seemed stunned for a moment, eyes wide as he pulled himself back on top of the water before he scowled. “THAT'S IT! YOU'VE WAITED SO LONG TO DO SOMETHING! WHAT LITTLE CLAN FAVOR, WHAT LITTLE THING CAN I HELP YOU WITH, HUH? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” 

Akio didn’t think. She didn’t think and she opened her mouth and she regretted it the moment she said it. “NOTHING. I WANT NOTHING FROM YOU!” 

Silence. Stunned silence. 

Then he turned and ran and no matter how fast she tried to go, Akio couldn’t catch up. 

Sakumo was swiftly dragged from his happy daze when one of Akio-sama’s ANBU showed up with a sobbing armful of said woman. She was shivering with the cold rain, sobs bowing her shoulders as she heaved with sorrow. Keiko was by his side almost instantly, helping him disrobe their Alpha and put her freezing body between them. For a woman who tended to run hot, this wasn’t a good sign. 

Dropping his own clothing to the floor, he rolled them up between two futons, Keiko soon following from the other side. Akio-sama’s lips were edged in blue and that was Not Good. Chihiro, brilliant boy, was quick to start the tea while the Uchiha kid herded toddlers away and into a game. They shared a look between them, ready to get to the bottom of this mystery. 

Akio-sama wasn’t speaking, though. She had all but become nonverbal. Every time the tears stopped, they would ask what they could do, what had happened. She would get this devastated look on her face before the tears fell again, the sobs getting quieter and the sorrow more pronounced. After the third time, they gave up, just holding her tight until the blue left her lips. 

Chihiro made a small broth and tea, handing it over so the two could get the warm liquids in her. Maybe, if they were lucky, she wouldn’t get ill from the weather. Sakumo made a mental note to teach her body regulation. 

They weren’t that lucky. 

Shikatsu sat with his wife, the two discussing what to do with Mozu. Jin, his father, was on yet another mission and while Shikatsu knew about the boy’s mother’s death… well. He wasn’t sure what to do. 

The boy had come in snapping and snarling and heading right towards him to demand to know what Hamada-san had asked for, what _favor_ she wanted for him to continue to live with her. For the first time, Shikatsu had been speechless for more than ten seconds, blinking his black eyes at the absolute _idiot_ standing before him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he had waved away the dripping teen, too fucking done that late in the day to deal with the whole _woe-is-me_ song and dance. “In the morning.” 

That seemed to confirm something, a great ache opening in those eyes like a chasm. Shikatsu had smacked the boy almost gently upside the head. “And not because of dumb shit like that. Go to sleep, maybe your brain will start working.” 

The absolute affront had him snorting at the kid, rolling his eyes as he had turned away. And now. 

Here he was at dawn. Awake. 

Ugh. 

“Your cousin is a menace.” 

His wife grinned, patting his knee in false sympathy. Nemuri knew exactly what he was talking about. Even if the kid was twice removed and a third cousin at _best,_ that line had a habit of jumping to conclusions. Often, they were correct. Sometimes they got _emotional._ “Technically, he is my nephew five times removed.” 

Ugh. 

_Ugh._

He was not a lineage master for a reason. 

Mozu was eventually sent for. Making him sit at their low table, Shikatsu handed the origami missive over with a deep sigh. He was about to lose the origami deer. He hadn’t finished learning the folds yet. What a mess. 

Tsuma still hadn’t gotten over the horror that all the grain in the silo was damaged. He had walked out there himself to inspect it only to find the silo ripped in half with a tree sticking through part of it and nearly completely submerged. The small house Akio-chan lived in was a total ruin, sediment on the tatami and one of the walls disintegrated from large debris and high water levels. The cattle were on the Hokage monument slope, one of the only places not submerged with the deluge. One of the cows was showing signs of illness and had to be taken down. 

Tsuma couldn’t believe the amount of damages the young woman was looking at in two months' time. The loss of vital farming tools and other items! The _grains!_ And her fields would be a wasteland of water if no one helped her clean it up. 

Scowling as he went over the reports and memories again, he made a note. Akio-chan had been too generous with her forgiveness and it was time he stepped up to the plate and offered recompense. 

Inomaru sighed as he heard all the gossip about thei— _the_ little Alpha. She was ill. Maybe a cold, possibly pneumonia. And the fallout! 

He kept filling in lines upon lines of paperwork, halfway through after a month of covertly keeping this under wraps. Oh, his office knew, no doubt, but they had seen the transformation of the White Fang from little more than a shadow back to a man who was in love with his newly happy wife. They were going to be keeping this behind their teeth. The ward papers were finalized and filed, only awaiting Hamada-san’s signature. That was something they could put off for a while longer since most of her wards were barely two-to-four years old. 

And all the while, he was watching the office at the Tower, waiting. Having to sit on his hands. If this was who he thought… If the man was the one responsible for so much damage to their village… Well, maybe it was time that the village put their foot down with the one who kept taking from it indiscriminately. 


	28. Being Sick Sucks, The Difference In Status, Wolf, Shut Your Damned Mouth, Word Of Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS FOR:   
> Vomiting. It's not super intense, but I know some pretty triggery people. 
> 
> (I may or may not gag on purpose when they actually piss me off.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had the flu. Not CORVID-19, just the flu. I go back to work today, so have something nice while I go back to work aching and sore even if I'm not contagious anymore. The US needs to get on those paid sick days so I don't have to worry so much. I'm too broke to miss work days, dammit.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT 

Akio was sick. She wouldn’t mind if it was a fever and a runny nose. Colds and flu were quick to get over. Oh no. This was something else, her lungs drowning even as she wheezed a breath that seemed to do nothing for her. She hacked a heavy cough, glad the children were on the other end of the room and leaving her in her corner of misery. 

Shit. She was going to  _ have _ to go to the hospital. 

She was going to have to keep that  _ one specific fucker _ well away from herself. She hadn’t remembered where the hospital was, but she remembered  _ her _ and she  _ hated _ her. Akio didn’t hate anyone lightly, so this was one of the few enduring loathings she had ever had. 

Yet… 

“Sa—” she started coughing, unable to stop as her dry throat click-click-clicked and her lungs seemed to get smaller and smaller. A heavy hand was pressed to her back, warmth radiating until it soothed her lungs and throat. Ugh.  _ Ugh.  _

One of her watchers was behind her, doing their best even as Sakumo knelt before her. She held out her arms like a child would, the man easily lifting her up (with a thrill through her core that she ignored, dammit). She settled in his arms, leaning in to leech heat. With one finger, she curled it through the air into the character for hospital. It took twice before both the shadow and Sakumo got it. Then she held up her hand. “If,” she rasped, “I stop someone from being in my room,  _ listen _ to me. Ple—” 

She bent back over, coughing and wheezing. She  _ hated _ this illness. Probably pneumonia, which was shit to get rid of. She would feel worse for yelling at Mozu if she didn’t feel like death warmed up from this mess. Ugh. Wet conditions like this were ideal for lung illnesses, so of course... 

She sighed as shallowly as she could, shivering despite her body being like a small sun. A long down blanket was wrapped around her, the big umbrella came out, and Sakumo along with two shadows went off into the rain to see about getting her the help she needed. Akio for most of this dozed off and on, lucid but too tired to be a part of the procession. 

She didn’t pay attention too much as they went through the gates, strode up the road, and right into the shinobi side of the hospital. It wasn’t that they didn’t know she was a civilian… it was just that they didn’t think about her being a civilian in the hospital would change things. They didn’t understand the rigid delineation between  _ those who received chakra treatment  _ and those who were like her. Those who, even with active chakra, were civilian and thus not worth the time and effort of the hospital staff that were there for the citizens of Konoha. Citizens being those who were a part of the shinobi forces or large founding clans. 

Akio was neither of these things. 

“Ma, Hanako-chan,” called Sakumo to the receptionist that was almost always on his case about signing himself out. She smiled a little bit stiffly at him before noticing his bundle. Then it became more genuine. 

“Ah! It must be your wife! I’ll hurry up and get you a room!” Sakumo opened his mouth to refute her but was cheerfully chattered over. “Oh I hope Hatake-sama is doing well! She hardly is ever seen anymore, I guess she doesn’t leave the compound much! Why-” 

And on and on  _ and on _ she prattled, the three ninja sharing long suffering looks as the nurse grabbed up information and set about showing them to a room. Sakumo tried again to correct the woman but, well… Hm, yeah, no, she was doing many things, but listening was not one of them. Then she swept away,  _ still _ talking. 

“I’ll send the doctor  _ right away, _ don’t you worry!” 

Akio huffed a little from her cocoon, pushing one arm around to pull the down comforter from her face. “She must be newer. The old receptionist is more polite.” The rasp of her voice had all three paying attention. Coughing a bit, she wiped her brow with her sleeve. “Get the medicine ASAP. If that asshole knows I’m here, she’ll try and change things again.” 

The two shadows stiffened. That was… not normal at all. Sabotaging a citizen of their village seemed like a strange and petty thing to do. She waved a hand before coughing wetly. They didn’t have time to ask before a young man was in the room. He smiled politely, gesturing to the bed. 

“Put her down there. Hello, miss. I am Nemuri Yuuske, you may call me Nemuri-sensei.” He snapped on some gloves after drying his hands. “May I check you over?” 

Akio choked when she laughed, going into a coughing fit. She knew that voice and that name was familiar. Pushing the down comforter away from her face, she waved at the young male nurse. His face lit up, eyes wide and sparkling. “Ah! Hamada-san! Your advice was well used and I’m an apprentice now!” 

“N-no more…” she gestured to her face. He blushed a bit, cheeks going pink. 

“No, Hamada-san. I have learned better than  _ that _ by now.” He grinned. “So how about it? May I put my hands upon your person?” 

Akio grinned despite feeling like death and leaned forward the moment she was settled on the bed. Without an ounce of shame, she dropped the robe from her shoulders to bare herself to his ministrations. He got to work quickly, hands on her back as his fingers glowed green. His face was out of view so she didn’t see how it went from jovial to frowning. 

“Hamada-san, may I bring up some of the mucus? It will be… unpleasant isn’t quite descriptive enough.” 

Akio sighed shallowly. “Go on.” 

“Grab that bucket, please,” the nurse instructed before sliding his hands from her hips to her shoulders again and again, Akio choking before she leaned over and vomited and gagged into the bucket held there. Green and bright yellow mucus flew from her mouth along with stomach bile. She couldn’t breathe at all now, but her lungs were feeling lighter and lighter every time she gagged and released into the bucket, so. Something was working. She would laugh at the sound of someone getting sick from witnessing her own misery if she wasn’t A) drowning, B) miserable, and C) so exhausted from all of this she just wanted to sleep. 

Suddenly, it stopped and all her energy fled. Nemuri-sensei helped her clothe again and let her down gently on a nice incline instead of flat. “That’s most of it. I’ll do a full body scan and update the chart correctly in a moment, but I need to make sure that it was only in your lungs. I’ll be starting at your head. Is that okay with you, Hamada-san?” 

Akio nodded weakly and wheezed, lungs clear but sore from expelling so much filth. He was quick, expelling the tainted mucus from her nose and ears, soothed her throat and the ache in her head, then headed down her torso. His voice was a low murmur as he worked, commenting to himself over minor things. Including how her chakra network seemed a bit better off, not so strange. She giggled to herself over that, remembering when  _ that bitch _ had said to her face that she was an abomination. 

Because whenever has your soul matched your body? 

“When did you dislocate your  _ wrist?” _

It’s said with such horror that she snorts a laugh, hacking a moment later and spitting out a globule of pure rancid loathing. Ugh. She’s cleaned up and has her breath before she finally answers. “Six.” She clears her throat. “Fell off the roof. The doctors wouldn’t do more than set it and send me off.” 

There is a spike in emotion. It feels muted and that’s fine, but the emotion is pretty stark. She pats Sakumo’s hand in absence of anything else to do. “It’s fine. It’s been like this for twelve years and I can handle it slipping.” 

This in no way helps the atmosphere. 

Trying to calm them and herself, she patted Sakumo’s hand a little more. “Hush now. That’s just how it is for civilians. We are not as… logistically important.” 

That in no way helped. Huffing, she burrowed into her downy cocoon with a pout. It’s not this hadn’t always been the case. These guys didn’t see it because they were not only Shinobi but second and even third gen. Most of the ones in ANBU had to be that far up the ladder to even be considered for the position, abilities notwithstanding. Well, yeah, one had to be good enough to be an ANBU, duh, but a lot of first genesis were overlooked for those who would be more politically correct to employ in that office. New blood was not it. 

Yawning, she waited as the young nurse hurried through his thorough examination, sighing as joints that had been twisted and tendons over-extended were cooled and gently put back. She dozed, murmuring when she was picked up again, curling into the hot chest of her sweet wolf. 

This was not to continue. 

“Oh. It’s not Hatake-sama. It’s  _ you. _ The  _ abomination.” _ Somehow, Akio found herself without Sakumo but at least one shadow. That meant she could feel and smell the person but the doctor could not. Though how someone so sour was any kind of Doctor was beyond her. 

“Hello, cock-sucker-sensei,” she responded as cheerfully as she could with a raspy throat. “It was so lovely until you showed up.” 

There is a long stretch of silence, one that slowly filled with glee at her back and rage at her front. “You—“ 

“I mean,” she butted in immediately. “It’s the only way I can see you getting anywhere with such an ugly personality. Oh, your face is pretty enough, but that seething bowl of jealousy and resentment is still there. And the puddle deep personality, of course.” 

Her face was glowing red as she started to march into the room. Akio was ready for retaliation - for a Senju, this old crone acted a lot like a teenaged Uchiha just coming into their emotions. Her guard was not and the threat exuded from behind had her tipping her head back. “Oh, don’t worry. She just hates me and everything I stand for. Decency, common sense, compassion, intelligence…” 

She turned her face back to the doctor. “For not joining the corps the moment I could so my parents could have the relief that I, at least, would continue to be well and stand in as an heir.” 

The woman’s face went through a cycle and Akio was fascinated. Exhausted and starting to droop, but fascinated. That didn’t look healthy. Before they could get into a proper confrontation, Sakumo was walking… uh, stalking back in, all bristling defensive posture and sharp eyes. Akio was reminded that he was called the White Fang and the White Wolf for a reason. It was still weird. 

“Akio-sama,” he intoned like he would be on a mission, she just knows it, and the smooth drop of tone is enough to make her shiver. Damn it. Her hormones aren’t supposed to do this until she’s twenty-one! “I think it is time we left. The pups will need to see you and my wife wishes to show you the floor plans we have picked. Alpha.” 

The woman pales into a sour milk color. That really was not a good thing. How has she not passed out? Still, Akio isn’t one to resist good sense and eagerly loops her arms around his neck, turning to cough a little into the crook of her arm. It’s better but the need to get rid of the lingering illness trapped inside is forcing her to expel what she can however she can. 

They sweep out, prescription held tight in one hand only to be handed off to one of her ANBU. The one bows and spins out, leaving litter and grass blades. “Rude. It’s not her who cleans up, after all.” 

There is a moment before there is the low scent of burning leaves and grass blades, the scent sharp and sweet in the small cloud of smoke. She hums as she curls closer, safely tucked in strong arms. The exhaustion is relentless after earlier and she can’t keep her eyes open. Yawning like an animal, she falls into a sleep so deep that she doesn’t wake until the next day. 

Sakumo had been talking with the young nurse, curious how Akio-sama had set him straight. He had wheezed after being told how Nemuri-sensei had started her lactation without actually 1) finding out the facts and 2) telling her what he was about to do. They were halfway through the prescription instructions when there was a punch to the gut of a chakra flare, one that had half the residents flinching. He recognized it, eyes going wide as he started back the way he came. 

The morse code of chakra flares were narrowed when he responded in kind. Protective rage swelled from his aura, the air near sizzling with the tang of ozone. His stalk through the hall had people pressing to the walls in a primal fear, eyes wide and wild. He was a strong shinobi, very, very strong and his chakra reflected it with each heartbeat like pulse. Then he gets to the room his Alpha should have been safe in and she was nearly being  _ accosted _ by a literal  _ healer. _ A Senju healer. 

He wanted to rush in and rip her from the room. He wanted to assert his dominance. He  _ wanted _ to do a lot of  _ bad things _ but… his small civilian Alpha believed in him, in his goodness and his patience. So he didn’t do those things. Instead, he set the record straight for the old hag even as he gathered his sickly Alpha close. 

Maybe he should have looked for a fellow Shinobi. Maybe he should have looked for someone not as delicate as Akio-sama. The fact of the matter was that  _ Akio-sama  _ was powerful in a way so few Shinobi could ever hope to be. She didn’t roll with the punches, she returned fire in a way that jerked the rug from under firmly planted feet and left the opponents shaken. She was  _ unexpected  _ and that made her dangerous. She was clever and that made her difficult. She didn’t follow protocol, she made up her own rules and gently pressed them into place with a motherly smile. 

Honestly, she was the best thing that had happened to him in over a decade. Not even finding a mate topped finding an Alpha who cared. 

Behind him, the two shadows seethed in that quiet way very powerful people did so as to not kill civilians with heart attacks. He looked down at the soft face of his little Alpha, his heart melting as she snuggled to him even in sleep. She was so vulnerable and ill and yet she held to him. Her chakra reached for him, clumsy but warm. His heart felt so full as to burst. Just by being near her and the childlike joy and love she exuded, he could relax and take in the world around him. For the first time in near twenty years he felt at peace. 

It was the same for everyone who came to her. She didn’t discriminate in who she reached out to, the children of the village or the Shinobi sent to her. He noticed how with most adults, she closed up like the petals of a flower, slow but unerring, and without thought. Yet he was one of the few she allowed the petals to fall open to, his chakra the sun to her gentle bloom. When closed, there was no one who could feel the sweet press of her chakra inviting them. 

It always amused him when she went defensive, though. A show that the blooms hid a deadly poison. Pressing a kiss to her brow, allowing the easy intimacy, he went to the front desk so they could leave this building smelling of the sick and dying. 

He had a pack to care for and an Alpha to heal. 

Inomaru was not a happy camper. A vaunted Senju healer all but accosting a civilian woman because of, what?  _ Jealousy? _ He would have said preposterous were it not for the vivid reminder that he actually had ANBU trailing after this little girl. One that he was coming to be… something. Protective, maybe. 

Already, the crime rates were down and the entry level employment was soaring, especially at tea houses and warehouses. The onsens in the village were experiencing their first boom in employment in over seven years. Sure, it was just washing towels and cutlery and moving things, but without small children to feed  _ right now, _ many young teens and adults were suddenly at their doors. It was remarkable. 

Sakumo, on the other hand, was making keeping the clan head transfer a hell of a lot harder to damn well keep silent. Absolute bastard. If Inomaru was found with the papers, hell would break loose and heads would roll. Possibly his own. 

Sighing as he went back to work, he couldn’t help but smile. His friend was finally opening up again and it was all because of one civilian terror. Would wonders ever cease. 

Somewhere in Kirigakure, clan heads of various unusual clans held a meal with the Hoshigaki. They had finished some time ago, sipping tea and gossiping for now. At least, they had been before the Hoshigaki head signaled for silence. 

“I have news. It’s been a great long while, but for the interest of not bringing a literal wrath of Kami upon us, I am here to tell you that there is an Alpha Bitch back in play.” 

He sipped his tea even as the room exploded. He was too old for this shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, have fun with [Discord.](https://discord.gg/4dCN72X)


	29. A Proposition, A Clue is Got, Common Sense Does Exist!, R U Sur?, One Step Forward & 100 Sideways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am over the regular Flu. My workplace is not shut down but I did have two days off so I wrote and talked with my Discord, and you know what? Polyamorous relationships are super underrated. (Just like caring for the health of your employees.) 
> 
> Also, I know who the daddy of the first baby(ies) will be!

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE 

Akio took almost two weeks to be back up and around. In that time, the rains had calmed and, while they blew sideways, they were moving  _ on. _ Already teams were out and about the village to clean up the streets and remove the animals that had sought shelter where they shouldn’t have. More than one new dog found their way to her. That one came with a half submerged basket of kittens in his mouth was neither here or there. Kittens still young enough to need milk every thirty minutes and help making bowel movements. 

Wiping down the smallest kitten she was desperately worried about seeing as the dear could fit in her tea cup with room, the young woman listened as Himiko chattered nonstop about being a ninja ‘cause ninja were  _ so cool, okaa-baachan  _ and ate her pretzel stick. The little accomplishment of remembering how to make pretzels was gratifying and doing so to the point that they crunched just so was enough to make her cry. But that wasn’t what she was worried about. 

Mozu hadn’t come back. Sent a letter. Anything at all. 

Placing the kitten down where curious puppies could sniff and play gently on the tatami, Akio looked out over the porch to the slowly receding waterline. Once, she could have put her feet over and have the water just a handspan below her knees. Now, she only had her ankles covered if she did. Seeing as the stilts made the house taller than  _ her _ , that wasn’t saying much. 

“Akio-sama,” crooned Keiko, the older woman coming over to her side. “You look sad.” 

Shoulders slumping, she nodded. No sense in lying to a woman who could tell when she did  _ actually _ lie. Some nights, she even cried herself awake as guilt ate her alive. It was happening more and more often now that she was healing. The bags under her eyes must be massive. Absolute Gucci. 

Did she even use that correctly? It had been a while since memes meant anything. 

Ugh. There went her thought train. Back off the rails. She needed sleep. 

“Want to tell me about it?” Keiko asked as she wrapped an arm around Akio’s shoulders. Keiko nuzzled the underside of her jaw making Akio shiver slightly, her body heat spiking as a thrill went down her spine. Damn her hormones and her body and her interest and her pansexual dumb bitch self. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I did,” she finally relented, leaning into the woman who easily allowed the touch. “And I miss him. I miss him so much. He is my brother and he hates me.” 

“Oh, Akio,” she cooed, hugging the young Alpha tight to her side. She let it happen, seeking comfort from her friend. “You didn’t do anything so wrong as to have that happen. He’s just a confused teenaged boy — they tend to be really stupid, if you haven’t noticed.” 

Considering she had raised both of her other brothers from a time far away, she knew. She just didn’t expect him to not return. To confront her. The expectation versus actuation was the problem. She was used to confrontational assholes who would never stay quiet when hurt. This boy was another personality type altogether and that was messing with her. 

Keiko kept talking even as her thoughts swirled. “Also, I heard from one of your ANBU that Shikatsu-kun was running him ragged with missions and clan techniques. You’ll be lucky if he isn’t raw hamburger from what I was told.” 

Akio huffed, not quite amused but also feeling a bit better. Keiko shifted around her until she was held against the soft chest of the woman, breathing in contentment and baby smells. Something hot flashed in her loins that made it hard not to squirm even as she soaked up the touch. Damn her but she was maybe kind of crushing on her friends. She wanted to eat Keiko up and pamper her during her pregnancy while she kind of desperately wanted Sakumo to raw her until she couldn’t walk. 

Damn her early hormones. 

“Dammit.” 

A poke on her cheek had her blushing because she somehow ended up with her head  _ between _ the soft breasts of Keiko rather than on her shoulder. “Ah-Ah, no sad! What are you thinking of so hard that you’re unable to concentrate on your guilt?” 

Akio blushed, covering her face with her hands. Oh no. Oh.  _ No. _ What did she say?  _ I’m so horny I could climb your husband like a tree? That I want to eat you out until you blackout from pleasure? That I’m leg-humping desperate as my hormones kick in three years early? _ How about not. 

“N-no reason!” 

Shit. That was a squeak. She felt her ears and scalp burn with heat as she begged the water to swallow her, for the ground to take her into its deadly embrace. A startling touches between her breasts had her eyes going wide as her head looked up in surprise. 

“Ah. Don’t worry, Akio-sama.” That finger was joined by another in a trip that made her tummy quiver as they went down her torso. “I understand. You are a virgin, yes? Don’t worry. My mate and I would very much like to… help with that.” 

Those fingers tickled her belly button in a way that should not have made her thighs press tighter. They resumed their walk when she squeaked again. “But, as always, it is your choice. I, for one, would like to taste you.” 

Akio scrambled sideways, falling into the water as she tipped off the porch. Keiko laughed until she fell over while Akio tried very hard to become one with the water. Then a thought came to her. She was just propositioned by a woman on behalf of a couple. And there went her breath. 

Mozu dragged himself into the clan compound, too tired to even glare at his clan head when the man came over and sat with him. He closed his eyes, letting his head thump heavily to the ground. Did he care that he was getting filthy? No. He had lost feeling in his limbs a while back. This would be nice enough for now. 

“... Have you thought things through?” 

Okay. He found some energy. “Oh, shut up, old man.” 

Shikatsu snorted, scrubbing his hand roughly over the wild, tufted hair. Mozu made a noise that was more akin to a dog than a deer, showing off his elongated canines. “Oi! I’m your clan head, brat! Show respect!” 

“Bite me, old man!” 

The two snarled and glared for several minutes before the two finally sighed in unison and looked away. Mozu rolled over slowly, groaning as everything protested. Starfished on the ground now as he stared at the sky, the teen sucked in a big breath before letting it out. “I really fucked up.” 

“Yup.” 

“You’ve been keeping me stupid busy for reasons unknown.” 

“Yup.” 

“You’ve kept something from me.” 

“... Yup.” 

Silence stretched around them for a while, the sky drizzling gently. “So. What is it?” 

Shikatsu looked at the kid he had been frustrated with from the very beginning, sighing as he scrubbed his hand back through his hair much gentler this time. “Stupid brat. Alright then.” The man leaned forward, crossing his arm over one that he brought up. “Hamada-san was in the hospital two weeks ago which resulted in a confrontation and a Senju healer being released from her position. She is also the Alpha to the Hatake Clan. It’s not official with paperwork but it is fact as far as we care.” 

Mozu turned so he could push himself up, curling one leg as he brought the other up, settling his elbow on his knee. “Man, so much happens with her.” 

His voice was wistful and his clan head heard it easily. “Of course. She is a new piece on the board, a wild item that no one can pin down. Of course she destroys the rules and up-ends the table. We have no idea of her motives, her prowess, not her power. We’re sitting here blind.” 

Mozu huffed, running a hand through his hair and taking out the band. The strands came down in a wet fall that was maddeningly attractive for a boy his age. “Well, one, her only motive is to make sure everyone is happy and full and taken care of. She is only as good as her attention span which is, admittedly, short and to the point. And three, she doesn’t even realize she’s powerful, so of course we don’t. She’s ignorant to her own crazy strong chakra and personality. It’s no wonder she doesn’t know she’s even playing the game.” 

Shikatsu choked. “She honestly doesn’t know?” 

Mozu laughed, a sharp bark of laughter. “Hell no, she doesn’t even notice.” 

Shikatsu covered his face. “I thought she would have noticed by now. No one is that oblivious.” 

Mozu rolled his eyes. “Oh. She’s oblivious, alright. Bullied ANBU into being her grocery boys and honestly didn’t get why I laughed myself sick.” He adjusted a little, settling his back against a smooth rock. “Her only motivation is to help. It brings her joy to see someone eating and clean and comfortable. She’s hard to understand because she isn’t a model we’ve encountered before. She’s stupidly selfless and selfish. She’d give up just about anything to make sure someone she cares for is alright but she would do anything to keep them.” 

Shikatsu sighed, folding his legs into lotus as he hunched over. 

“Well…” 

Mozu huffed, grinning. Shikatsu stared for a moment at the canines. 

“I guess it’s time I let you get to talk to her. After your last mission.” 

Mozu groaned. 

The state of the Kirigakure Shinobi clans was strange. To the civilians and even many Clan populace of the village. The Hoshigaki, for the first time in living memory, were the ones who had more information than anyone else and it was imperative that they get it, too. The only thing was that the Hoshigaki were monstrous and forcing information from a living wall of chakra and muscle was quite hard. 

The one dubbed  _ Idiot _ for the time being was the one people had to schmooze. He was also currently under the command of the smallest and most normal member, cowed as she went shopping with him carrying her bags. Seeing as the tiny member of the clan was pregnant, no one wanted to start asking questions where she could hear because she was married into the clan for a good fucking reason. Terrifying didn’t even begin to cut it. 

“Baka-kun,” she called, her brother by marriage coming closer with a defeated sigh. “Fetch some fish, please? I can’t handle that right now.” 

Honestly, the woman looked a little green. “Of course, Fufu-chan.” 

Yeah, no. 

They would have better chances with a missing nin than a pregnant woman. 

Moving on! 

Somehow, some way, Kumo heard about an Alpha Bitch existing. Which, cool, cool. Which village? Konohagakure? Sure, fine. That’s okay. Their beef was with the ninja and not the civilians. Oh? She had a vested interest in several ninja? Uh, okay. They could, uh, work around that. 

What do you  _ mean _ she  _ took on a Hoshigaki in the water? _ Are we sure this is a civilian? 

Akio sneezed twice before blinking at the kitten who mimicked her. Petting the soft head, she went about her business. 

Inomaru rubbed his brow, almost finished with the paperwork. The only places left were for signatures and clan only information that could be classified and redacted to hell and back. The headache he was experiencing wasn’t because of this paperwork, either. It was something else. It had been confirmed for him who was stealing clan children, Konohagakure orphans, and otherwise. 

He wanted to whimper. 

Yet, somehow, his entire division knew, too. They had brought it to him. Showed him so many documents that had been doctored, falsified, and classified under forgery that the amount of treasonous acts was enough to fill a scroll. The fact that they had been able to keep this under wraps had him suspicious. Something was going on inside that little bombshell and it wasn’t for the benefit of the one who was doing it. 

Someone wasn’t brainwashed to utter loyalty but probably had to stay for reasons as yet found. They would have to dig deeper. That was the only solution. Go further back. Figure out if the connections Akio had to her brothers was a factor. 

Sakumo welcomed his wife into his arms with joy, bussing a kiss to her lips. “Hello, wife.” 

She nipped his chin, arms tangling around his neck. “Hello, husband. I had a very interesting conversation with Akio-sama today.” 

They were in their compound, packing a few more things they wanted for the house they were having built adjacent to the mainhouse. It was an opportunity to talk about their place with Akio-sama and not have her fret over their comfort or the fact that she was acting clan head now. There so seldom was a meeting that it didn’t matter. Sakumo would be sure to let her know soon. 

“Oh, and what did you talk about, my mate?” 

Keiko smirked, hopping into his arms as her legs slid around his waist. Sakumo lifted her with ease into his arms. “Just letting her know that if Akio-sama wanted to experience her first time with you and I, we would welcome her with joy.” 

Sakumo growled, the thought of being allowed to be with their Alpha in such a way making lightning spark from his teeth as sudden and intense arousal assailed him. “Wife, you play a dangerous game.” 

“Don’t worry,” she crooned. “She seemed very,  _ very  _ receptive.” 

They didn’t get much packing done after that. 


	30. Weeb, Before Six, Gotcha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a weeeee bit naughty. I may or may not write the scene later, but for now, it's pretty clear what's going to happen and all that. This is Mature more for the violence and generally abominable actions of humans against each other with a sprinkling of sexual maturity than it will be for the sex. That's why it isn't Explicit.

CHAPTER THIRTY 

Akio didn’t know what to do with that… proposition. She was interested,  _ duh, _ but she was also just eighteen and dealing with early onset of a different type of puberty. Digging through her mother’s journals provided no help and she couldn’t find more than a few scrolls that told what would happen, not why she was early. 

Their clan wasn’t just  _ early _ without reason. Something was up. Her biological clock was set forward by far too much to be ignored. This could be something dangerous or it could be benign, but she didn’t have the luxury of waiting to see which way it went. Already her belly was hot with need and her lips slick with fluid just thinking about being touched. This was not  _ normal. _

Snarling as she pushed her box of personal codexes and journals to the side, she dug through the bigger box even deeper. Hoping for something to give her a clue. She should stop and seal things back up, clean the loft so it could be used, but she had too much on her mind to even think about that. That was how Keiko found her, bent over the black lacquered box that cost a small fortune and filled with family items not often used. 

Not wishing to interrupt the growling Alpha, she picked up a journal, flipping through it. When she didn’t recognize the characters, she picked up another. Then another. And another. With over thirty journals there, this treasure trove of incomprehensible nonsense made her giddy. She had enjoyed making cyphers and twisting around characters for other meanings. This, however, was a whole new language. More than one, even! 

Akio didn’t pay her any mind (tried to not pay her any mind,  _ tried  _ as the short hairs on her neck stood up and her core clenched) as she sat back, pushing her falling hair well out of the way. It was getting stupid long again but she didn’t want to mess with cutting it. People tended to cry when she whacked it off with a cleaver. “Dammit.  _ Dammit. _ All of Mother’s scrolls must be back in storage. Which, ugh, is in the  _ Capital _ of all places. Gross.” 

Huffing, Akio pushed all of her memories back into the large lacquer box and then took a moment. Her journals…? She blinked when she saw them in the hands of an ecstatic Keiko, the woman nearly swooning over one. She blushed a bit before shaking her head. No. Not. Happening. 

Crawling over, she peered at the book upside down. Oh. Yautja. That language had been wild when she was a kid and as an adult, she found she liked the idea of a massive man or woman with biceps like whoa which had kept her interest. 

To be honest, she had been a major weeb. She knew at least four “fake,” fully developed languages in written format and another few she had spent a lot of time trying to decode. There were three dead languages she had spent far too much time studying as a child and, while she had a grasp on the symbols, she wasn’t that well versed in the actual ancient language itself and that sometimes bit her really hard on the butt. 

What could she say, she had been a closet scholar most of her life. Mainly because being an actual scholar cost more than she could afford. 

Whatever. 

She just… had a lot of time as a kid and while she worked, she hadn’t worked too much or too long and being left to her own devices once her parents knew she had no interest in becoming a monkey by climbing a tree or trying to fly from the roof, they had left her at loose ends. Recreating and writing down every language she had known like the back of her hand had taken a lot of her time. It hadn’t helped her learn the new one for this life but it had passed the time in a way that flexed her brain. 

She did more than languages, too. Plays, music, movies, poetry — she had forced herself to remember so many things just to soothe the itch to have something to do. 

“I got bored growing up. I wasn’t taught any kind of language before six, so…” She shrugged and put the journals back in their box. “You can go through them, I guess. Don’t know how interesting they’ll be, but more power to you.” 

Keiko seized the box the moment Akio let it go, hauling the journals from the loft. Shaking her head, Akio finished cleaning up before sealing the box back away. Sighing, she began the next meal with a small frown. Today was interesting but not too wild. Thank goodness. 

Inomaru was not ready for his currently retired intelligence agent Hatake Keiko to stride through his door during the lunch hour with a box on her hip and a smile that made shivers crawl up his spine like spiders. She sashayed over like there was nothing wrong with a “retired” ninja stepping foot into the heart of the intelligence division, one of the most guarded parts of the Tower and under constant surveillance. The box made a deep thump on his desk, the papers underneath becoming wrinkled and torn. Giving the woman a mild glare, he leaned back and folded his arms, waiting for an explanation. 

“So. My little Alpha? Is a fucking kami-gifted creature. Open one up. Any of them. Tell me what is written there.” 

He did as asked, knowing there was not a trap. Keiko was many things but a Trapper was not one of them and for good reason. His smirk had her blushing just a bit, both of them remembering the many botched traps from the aforementioned woman. Then his eyes fell on an open page and he froze. 

What the hell. What. That actual. Fuck. Okay, yes, his thought process was degrading, but he had never seen a cypher like this before. It wasn’t even a character. It looked like a block print flower, halfway beheaded in various states. 

He picked up another one, the imagery used as soft swirls and spirals and utterly incomprehensible. Something like glee shuddered up his body, his eyes leaving the journal to look at Keiko. She held up one that was smaller than the others. “This right here? Is a cypher primer for more than six languages from the brain of my Alpha. If I had a dick, I would be making babies as we speak.” She flipped it open to the very first page. “The very first one is phonetic and what all the other languages are based around, even if loosely.” 

She leaned down until Inomaru settled forward, the two sharing a secret that would probably rock his entire world. Again. “She did this before she was six.” 

There went his brain. Melting out his ears and leaving him a stunned wreck. “No.” 

Keiko stood back, grinning like razor wire and blades, all shiny, dangerous pride. “Yes.” 

Oh, this was fucking  _ unfair. _ Snatching the primer that his subordinate held out to him, he looked at the notes in shaky scrawls that steadily became better. The real kicker was that it took him until the last pages to see the characters of their own language, annotated with phonetic words and a vivid imagery library that filtered through each language. The hand drawn cat had every type of language listed underneath and he felt something inside throw an honest to kami temper tantrum over not having such a brilliant mind in Intelligence. Shikatsu was going to lose his mind. 

_ Inomaru _ was losing his mind. 

Cracking open the primer to the first page, he set to work learning the new language with his friend and most terrifying subordinate. He wanted to know what was in those journals. 

Shikatsu had sent Mozu off less then two hours ago and here he was, striding confidently into Intelligence with a pleased hum. He was not expecting the gleeful cooing of one of the scariest women his friend knew or the jittering, shaking glee from the rest of the room that acted like they were six cups of coffee deep into a research binge with decaf in their future. 

His curiosity, which his wife said would get him killed one day, kindled high and bright. Stepping over his friend’s shoulder, he read the journal that had him so engrossed. Well… he  _ tried  _ to read it. 

Sweet kami… 

“Where did you get a whole new language, Ino?” The question was asked with reverent fervor, his hands coming to settle on the blonde’s shoulders. “I need to know.” 

Said blonde pointed at his subordinate who was supposed to be on maternity leave. Or retired, but who retired being a ninja? Yet, she had brought a language he had never seen and  _ could not decipher  _ into his grasp. He would bow to her if it wouldn’t be a political nightmare. Hell! He might do it anyway! 

“Where did you get this?” Inomaru was kind enough to let him take what had to be the original cypher booklet from his hands. He cradled it with the absolute dignity it deserved. “Who’s mind birthed such a magnificent puzzle?” 

The subordinate looked at him for a moment before smiling, a sharp and devious thing. She leaned forward, eye crinkling. “My Alpha.” 

Shock. 

All he could feel was shock. And awe. And absolute internal agony. The greatest mind of this century was a little farmer woman who cuddled babies and was a civilian that had no place being so clever. So ingenious. So far out of his reach. “When Mozu gets back, he is going to  _ live _ with this woman for the rest of his life. Maybe he will learn something.” 

The woman laughed, bright peaks of hilarity. “Akio-sama won’t mind at all. She misses her brother.” 

Oh. How rude. “I am Nara Shikatsu, Nara Herd Leader. It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Hatake Keiko, pack member of Hamada Pack. A pleasure.” 

Once the two finished their introductions with tips of their heads instead of proper bows, they went to work. Shikatsu soaked up the primer with interest, realizing that the underlying language was phonetic - which kind of made sense for a made up language. “How old was she when Hamada-san did this?” 

Hatake-san nearly swooned. “Before she was six! She did it because she was bored, if you can believe it!” 

His brush slid off his scrap paper, blotching torn paperwork and the desk. “Are you absolutely sure?” 

Hatake-san nodded as she relocated to his side so they wouldn’t yell over Inomaru, not that Shikatsu cared at this point. He  _ needed _ to know. “Oh yes. She said so herself! Didn’t even realize what she had. Let me have this with a  _ I don’t know how interesting they will be _ and let me leave with her whole box!” 

Aaaaaaaaand, yup. Yes. There went his pride as a Nara. Laying his face on the desk, he sighed so deep and long that Hatake-san patted his back in a consoling manner. 

“Where has my clan gone wrong? This could be our legacy and yet…” 

Hatake-san and Inomaru giggled. 

Sakumo had finally,  _ finally, _ made it home. He was soaked, his uniform was a disaster, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up around his son and wife and Alpha and just sleep for a day. Removing the mask, he blinked as he realized that he had done so with his Alpha as an audience. Seeing as they were in the loft and he had taken to coming here first for the very reason of not being seen in ANBU gear, he was understandably shocked. And it was late. Keiko wasn’t there but he knew where she was seeing as he had just left her packing up the find of the kami-be-damned century to bring back and so Akio-sama should have been asleep. 

Should have been. Was not. 

The young woman kept staring, her cheeks going dark with blood as a scent permeated the room. She made a noise in her throat that was entirely too interested for his restraint. Already he felt his body heat with want mirrored across the room, his loins stirring. In two long strides, he was towering over her, her eyes wandering over him with a hunger that punched the air out of his lungs and made it hard to breathe. 

He held his hand out to her, the black of his gloves soon closing around sun worn skin. Pulling her up, she stumbled into his chest, her hands flush to his body. He growled, pressing her back until the loft wall stopped them. “I want to kiss you.” 

She whimpered. “Oh, kami,  _ please. _ I’m going insane…” 

One arm around her waist, the other carding into her hair, he pressed his lips to hers. She snarled at him in a way that made everything in him shudder in want before fisting her hands in his hair and deepening the kiss with unerring accuracy and skill. She whimpered again, his body shivering until he pressed her tighter to the wall, her legs coming up around him as she gasped. 

This had stopped being just a kiss, of course, and if they didn’t pull back now… Akio-sama wouldn’t leave this loft a virgin any longer. 

Then his wife, his mate appeared. Her gasp was enough to pull him back and seek her eyes. She gently set the box in her arms aside before stepping towards them, eyes deep with hunger. “Keep going, dear.” 

Well, then. Grinning at his Alpha, she bit her lip with lust dazed eyes and a small hungry sound that had him biting her jaw in a nip before returning to her lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EDIT:**
> 
> In an effort to not be bombarded on my [Discord](https://discord.gg/tAqW6BA) with pleas for smut, I have pinned a message on the #welcome-to-the-server for those interested to vote with.


	31. Clarification That No One Knew They Needed, A Serious Discussion, (Inomaru just wants this to not be weird,) Visitation Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had this done for about two weeks and I’ve just been busy enough that I forgot that I did, actual factual, finish this chapter. Oops. 
> 
> I wanted to get right into the action but came to realize that I did need a transition and a setup chapter for later in the story. Akio is not going to be tied to just one (1) person or couple. She is very... intensely emotional in a lot of positive ways. Tbh, I see no ninja taking this well. I see them freaking tf out bc when have they had actual positive emotional reinforcement that wasn’t their Hokage patting their heads and say “good job”? 
> 
> Akio is also _intense_ as hell about her feelings. She says she loves someone easily bc it’s true but that is not the Japanese ideology or culture and she is a true outlier. It sets her very far apart from is expected verses what is reality. This will play in big time later because I am a very loving person I love easily and I love deeply enough that I do often get hurt, but I will say it is worth the heartache. 
> 
> You love someone because you want to. You give someone of yourself because you, the giver, wants them to have some of you. 
> 
> Or, that’s my personal take on it. I’m a bleeding heart.

THIRTY ONE 

Akio blushed furiously every time she even glanced at the preening, happily flustered couple. She could  _ not _ believe she had done that. Some bold beast had grabbed hold of her and now she was… her hands fluttered as her mind guttered. Or fell into the gutter. 

She was such a degenerate. 

She didn’t mind it as much as she thought she should. Akio had never been bold enough in a time past and now she supposed she took life too firmly in her hands. Yet, oh, to be rewarded so! She giggled as she cupped her bright red cheeks, heart hammering as she remembered hands on her and soft lips and just… 

Ahem. Yes. She was supposed to be fixing supper. Her slow shuffling gait and soft sighs had her preoccupied. Kami be damned but she had enjoyed herself too much to even regret it and was definitely looking forward to it again very soon. 

“Someone is in a good mood.” She looked at her Kitten, gently smacking his arm before grinning wickedly. 

“Oh yes. So much.” She bit her lip as she cut the winter squash up. “So, so much.” 

He wrinkled his nose. “Is this an adult thing? I bet it is. Is it gross?” 

Akio laughed, poking his cheek with a chopstick. “The grossest.” 

“Ew!” 

Akio started laughing so hard she had to stop prep, leaning over the counter so she could catch her breath. Her little brother stuck his tongue out, nose wrinkled. Goodness, he was too cute. “Oh. When will your uncle be visiting?” 

He shrugged. “Soon? I dunno, when he shows up. He’s had a lot of missions lately.” 

Akio frowned. “That will not do. He will burn out faster than a candle burning at both ends. I need to request a mission for three weeks. He can escort me to the capital and back. Nice, low key mission without any true politics or real danger.” She thought about it while cutting up some radish. “Maybe a three day layover here first so he can sit and relax. Do you think we could get that approved if I ask for him directly?” 

There was quiet for a moment before her kitten blinked. He stared hard at her, peering through narrowed eyes. “Do you have a crush on Uncle?” 

Akio sputtered, dropping her knife and the celery. “What?! What is the world, kitten?!” 

“It’s Obito and it’s a valid question! You keep worrying over him! That means you like him!” 

Akio covered her face. “Gods, kill me now. I am not having this conversation. You are a baby.” 

The now named Obito put his little hands on his little hips and pouted. “I’m old enough for the sex talk, why am I suddenly not old enough for this one?” 

She sighed because, dammit, he was  _ right. _ He tended to be right when he argued with her even if it was something small. Also, that name? Wiggles in the back of her mind as  _ supremely  _ important and she poked at it for a second but it didn’t budge. “You’re correct that you’re old enough, kitten, but  _ you _ are not the one I need to talk to about attraction to others. I need to speak with all involved parties in private because relationships are difficult to navigate within yourself, much less adding one or more people to the mix. Romantic or sexual relationships are even more complicated and require negotiation and awareness of intent, emotional connections, and a plethora of negotiations and compromises if it is intended to work.” 

She bent down to grab her knife from the floor, rinsing it off. He remained silent as she gathered her thoughts. “I have started an interesting relationship with Keiko and Sakumo. It is unfair to them at this time to even contemplate adding complications. You cannot just go up to a person and declare your intentions whether they want to be a part of it or not - that is manipulation and coercion and is, inherently, wrong. That means that, if you’re serious, you should speak with the party or parties involved and state your intentions clearly. State why you want to be with them. If they do not want to, you can step back, take a deep breath, and in time, the attraction and interest will fade or change.” She looked at him listening to her seriously. What a good boy. “If it becomes obsessive, that is when you seek aid. Your mind has a set wiring, that doesn’t mean that’s the only way you operate. You can change mental and emotional patterns to be less harmful to yourself and others, kitten. It just takes time and effort with knowledge that the interest is wrong.” 

He was quiet for a while longer, rocking on his toes. Chihiro by this point had sidled up beside him, for once neither boy going at each other while in close proximity. It’s not Obito who spoke up, though. “But what about sexual deviance?” 

Ah. “In what way?” 

“What if I like boys instead of girls?” 

Akio smiled at the cutting board. “Perfectly natural and normal. What if I prefer women to men? What if I prefer men to women? Does that change me in any noteworthy way?” 

It took awhile for the kids to think about that, the two discussing it a little. Finally, Obito piped up. “No? I mean, you’re still Akio. Which, by the way, means you’re  _ weird. _ Adults are weird, but you’re really weird. You answer questions and everything!” 

She looked at them, winking. “We’re all a little mad. Only the best people are.” 

Chihiro hummed, licking his lips. “But what about adults liking children?” 

Oh, there went her knife handle and her temper. Oops. “Adults who seek the company of children for sexual release are to be flayed until death if they so much as look at a child funny. It is not tolerable, a deviation in the brain chemistry that makes them incapable of finding proper release with other adults, and is a mutation of thought that I have never seen reformed. They are predators on those who are in essence powerless to stop them and they enjoy it on a level I do not and am happy to never understand. The last time I encountered such, he was gelded by my own mother so that the political issues of killing a then heir could be rectified by her stating the reason why and then having him disowned.” 

She could feasibly hear a pin drop and felt vicious satisfaction that her opinion was heard. There were very few and very far between reasons to kill someone. Touching a literal child with the intent to use them for sexual gratification was a hot button she had never put a stopper on. She had almost, once, taken a shotgun to someone and only her brother had stopped her rampage. 

Deep breaths. She was not allowed to lose her temper over a terrible memory. She was better than that. She was stronger and smarter, even when she felt weak and stupid and numb. Deep breaths. 

Again. 

Again. 

**_Again._ **

“Sorry. Deep hatred. Short temper. Forgive me.” 

Two sets of little arms wrapped around her, one high on her hips, the other just under them as she was bracketed from both sides. She put her prep down and put her hands on their small backs. Her boys were so good to her. Taking another deep breath, she cooled her ire. She had children to care for and a farm to tend. She had no time for stinging rage, so she tucked it back under her ribs and folded the sharp corners. 

She had control. 

Good sense. 

Breathe. 

“Come on, let’s finish supper then we can cuddle for a little while.” 

The boys agreed with enthusiastic consent, Obito yelling loudly before she shushed him gently. Smiling at them, she put her broken knife to the side since the tang was fine and grabbed a new one. If her knife fell heavier, that was the only real sign of her agitation and only the adults could tell. 

After their meal, Keiko tucked her Alpha between herself and her husband. Akio was still fuming but less likely to rip out throats by the time the children were sent to bed. Pup Obito and Pup Chihiro were drooling over the smaller body of Himiko, Hanzō and Akira on top of them in a pile of soft infant bodies. All of the other toddlers were piled up further away with the older kids wrapping them up in light blankets like little pork buns. 

“Akio-sa—Akio,” murmured Keiko, pressing her nose to the long stretch of neck. “So. What is this we heard about you interested in this  _ uncle, _ hm?” 

Oh. 

“While he’s handsome, I, hm, I won’t look any further than you two. I don’t feel that it is right to just… sleep with you and not offer exclusivity.” She bit her lip, Keiko looking on as their Alpha fidgeted. This was too cute as the young woman tried to give them something they couldn’t claim. She was  _ Alpha _ and that meant the rules were different. “Is that… is that what you want?” 

Her mate looked at her, amused. They were ninja. That they were mutually with each other was strange enough without the wolf instincts and characteristics. Ninja didn’t just pigeonhole themselves into exclusive relationships - there were always options of being mostly centered on one person, but it just wasn’t good sense to have  _ just one _ significant other. Often, mental and physical demands meant two or even three partners that filled in parts of the puzzle. Emotional support was near foreign. 

Until Akio. 

“Akio, while flattered, we would never tie you down just to  _ us. _ You’re not only Alpha, you have your own clan to bring forth.” Keiko kissed her neck, sighing at the strong, loving hands brushing through her hair. “It is not fair to you or us. We can only handle so much potent attention on us before we start to freak out. You’re very focused and, while exceptionally enthralling, it scares us sometimes.” 

Those gray eyes turned concerned. Sakumo spoke up before their Alpha could panic. “What Keiko means is that: while the offer is appreciated, we want you to add to your Pack how you please. If you want to please this uncle, do so. If you want to please other ninja or civilians, do so. This allows us to also catch our breath because, forgive me for saying so bluntly, your affections are very intense and we need to take small breaks so we can calm down.” 

Oh. She smiled a little at that, self deprecating and small. “Ah. I’m too much again, then.” 

Keiko surged up, wrapping around Akio. “N-well, yes, but, Alpha, that’s what makes you so perfect. You love. You love deep and warm and soft and when it’s focused, it’s beautiful and terrifying. We don’t always know how to respond to you and your deep affections. It’s not kind of us to hold you close only to push you away. That would hurt you. This allows you to hold us as tight as you want while also doing this to as many people as you feel the need to have.” 

The young Alpha hummed, tilting her head as she thought about it. It was a quiet, tense two minutes of waiting. “You… want me… to have a  _ harem? _ I… uh, I’m not opposed but, uh, how to explain.” She licked her lips. “What if I have too many or neglect you, somehow?” 

Keiko laughed, a soft, throaty thing. Sakumo chuffed more like a beast than a human, all base amusement. “We have no such worries. You feel us and you want us and that is more than we thought we would ever have.” 

Sakumo thrummed in agreement, licking a stripe up Akio’s neck. “What she said.” 

Keiko felt herself warm when Akio moaned, low and hungry. Sharing a look with her mate, they left the home for their almost abandoned house with a twist of chakra. This time, they would be on futons for their coupling. 

Inomaru didn’t quite blush, but he did flush just the tiniest bit in his ears while reading the newest report. Dear spirits, this was reading like a passage out of that Icha Icha manuscript Jiraiya had let him browse, only more plausible and much more emotionally charged. Clearing his throat and adjusting himself in his seat, he skipped past the parts written by Goose and went to where Boar started. It was standard for all of them to write reports, but some were more concise than others and would be filtered appropriately to him. Boar was all about mental and emotional growth as well as how the brain worked. 

This information was very, very terrifying and greatly informative. It spoke of a woman who had learned for the sake of knowledge and how to combat the issue. It also spoke of past traumas. Traumas they didn’t have documented at all. 

It was worrying because so much was missing from archives. Reems of information on citizens vanished into nothing. Was she the same? Had they tried to Disappear the young woman before? 

Something to follow up on. 

Right now, he had a report to copy for his friend and maybe a missive to one kid with white hair and aspiring dreams of writing really good porn. 

The water was receding. More and more every day it drained into the swollen river. Already, Tsuma ordered wood and was careful to go over the plans one of his men had carefully traced for the raised silos and barns. They owed the young woman who gave them so much. Already, she had slaughtered a second bull and gave them half yet again. At this rate, they would be in debt to her generosity for the rest of their lives.

Honestly, that didn’t seem to be too bad an option. Hamada-san was exceptional and kind and she wanted the best for children and was fierce. Turning to his wife as he finished tucking everything in a waterproof skein, he smiled at her still so swollen, though not for much longer. 

“Wife, I think it’s time we readied for a visit.” 

She winked. “Then you had best be ready.” 


	32. Not what you expect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING , WARNING 
> 
> LOTS OF TRIGGERS:   
> Kidnapping  
> Mild, non graphic gore  
> Slavery   
> Sexual assault   
> Sexual assault of a minor   
> Disassociation

THIRTY TWO 

Akio hadn’t meant to take two weeks to go for the cattle but, uh… she glanced at the sated couple who were cuddling on the futon, yeah, she had taken two weeks. Leaning over to place lingering kisses on their lips, she smiled before standing and belting her first layer closed. She would bathe this evening after work, so she had the pleasure to smell them on her for the rest of the day. She grinned to herself, tying her long hair back in a braid, then a bun. She was just in a simple yukata for the day and it made it easier to dress quickly and get out into the fields. 

She walked barefooted over the squishy ground, ignoring certain wigglies with habitual care. Can’t have a phobia without learning to manage it, right? She hummed as she walked through the compound and down the long trek to the western gate, seeing as she was closer to the Maingate. She smiled to herself as she walked, finally getting used to her paramour having unique genital peculiarities. At least she wasn’t limping like a log had been shoved in there, now. 

She strolled along, the light drizzling little more than a refreshing spritz. It stopped almost as immediately as it started, a common enough occurrence in Fire Country, especially this far south. It was cool, but not winter cold. She sighed as she waved to the gate guardians, starting on her way to the area she had last heard her cattle were clustered. Only the barest few dogs were out and about, keeping the bulls from the heifers so there shouldn’t have been anyone around. 

Stepping over one particular puddle, Akio slipped, her chakra control iffy on the slushy half-water, half-mud combination that ended up with her flailing around until she over corrected and both feet flew out from under her. Up went her heels and down went her back, mud slinging all over. It slapped in her hair and across her face, down her yukata and baring her legs from the knees down. Her arms were slathered in it and she sighed as she stared up at the sky. 

Picking herself up off the ground, she grimaced at the wet slap of sticky cloth and the added weight of earthy sludge. “Mother _ fucker,”  _ she hissed, holding her arms out to the side. “Disgusting.” 

“Oh kami-sama,” choked a voice she knew. Glancing over her shoulder is Mozu, a shepherd's crook in his hands. His shoulders shook with hilarity and Akio heaved a sigh. “Nee-chan,  _ oh my fucking shadows.” _

Clomping over to him, she stood for a moment before grabbing his crook and sweeping it from him by taking his legs from under him with the straight end. “Little shit.” 

He started cackling, rolling in the mud like a pig. Akio grimaced as she dropped his crook on his front, turning to walk away from the loon.  _ Teenagers. _

“Wait,  _ wait! _ Nee-chan!” Mozu pulled himself up, smiling hesitantly as he stepped forward. “I, uh. I…” his smile dropped as he ran a hand along his neck, pulling at the column of flesh. “Why the fuck is this shit so hard? I’m… fuck, I’m sorry. I’m stupid, okay?” 

Akio blinked, surprised but also touched. And worried. “Oh, Mozu-kun, you’re not  _ stupid, _ baby. Just…” she gropes for the proper words. “I don’t know what that was but I do know you didn’t ask for clarification and it backfired on us both.” 

He slouched deeper into himself, his mind going wild. She could see it happening and took his face in her muddy hands. “Mozu, you messed up. You’re a teenager, I  _ expect _ there to be problems and issues. That’s part of  _ growing up.  _ You make mistakes so you can  _ learn. _ It’s called life — it’s going to throw curves and give you whiplash and hindsight is always 20/20. It doesn’t get any easier to see all the options, but you learn to anticipate curves and problems.” 

He wiped his nose with his hand so he didn’t dislodge hers. She stuck her tongue out in disgust which made him laugh. Akio leaned in to press a kiss to his brow, pulling him much further down than before. He was getting so, so tall and grown up on her. He was going to be such a tall man one day. Letting him go, she suddenly got to witness him with muddy handprint sideburns. 

A small sound escaped her throat, sputtering before she out right cackled, the backs of her hands to her face. She laughed so hard tears sprang to her eyes and she started wheezing as emotion grabbed hold and twisted up before releasing in a flood of relief and tears and sobs. Mozu stepped up and embraced her, held her as she clung to him. She had  _ missed _ him and she held him tightly in her arms and in her heart, that string of emotion thickening into a heavy rope between them. Her family kekkei genkai was never so kind to the hearts and minds of the ones who loved like her and right then, it hit her full on just how much she loved this little boy who wasn’t so little anymore. 

She opened her mouth to say so when he jerked, breath gurgling. Akio went still as his rope within her heart wrenched as if it was trying to twist apart and fray. She didn’t allow it, holding it tighter even as a roughly clothed arm cane around her neck. 

“‘Ey, pretty pretty. Jus’ le’ dah boyo die, eh?” 

Mozu was jerked from her, falling to the ground with a wound through his belly, a slow death of shock if the injury didn’t kill him. Akio stared, unable to comprehend. She had just got him  _ back! _ These assholes were trying to take him away from her! 

But she didn’t have time to worry about that as she held his rope in her heart and kept him together in a way that shouldn’t be possible. She barely felt them pluck her up, her eyes closing as tears ran down her face. She couldn’t make a sound, sharp fingers digging into her sides, her neck and wrists. She couldn’t scream even if she wanted to and those rough hands on her neck were stopping the flow of oxygen to her brain. 

There was little time before she passed out. 

She came to with her body being roughly handled, ropes around her hands behind her back and claw-like fingers grabbing her muddy hair, the mud half dried and starting to flake into dust. She must have been out for quite some time. 

The men who had her were rough. Rough hewn clothing, manners, and handling. She also wasn’t the only one in this shape, the body of a younger girl propped across from her, muffled with a gag and fearful eyes. Her clothing was skewed in a way that made Akio have to count to ten and check on Mozu’s rope, sighing in relief when it held together even if it was shaking. Her heart held it warmly, tightly, helping soothe the tremors even as she reassured herself he was alive. 

That didn’t help her here but it gave her comfort. 

“Look’ee, she’s awake now,” cooed a new voice, slick like oil and full of intentions. “Can’t b’lieve we go’ a twofer — tha’ leafy village loikes keep’n em close.” 

A hand grabbed her chin, pulling her face up to stare into eyes like hatred. There was nothing there but greed and loathing, features pale and eyes too dark. He almost looked Uchiha but for the atrocious haircut and two crooked teeth. The Uchiha were fastidious in keeping their mouths in perfect condition and not one that she knew would allow their teeth to twist like that. 

The girl across from her looked at Akio with fear and regret, curling in tighter even as she whimpered. The man caressing the girl’s slowly swelling face gave a leer that had Akio biting back the automatic need to rip his throat out, hands twisting in the badly tied ropes. Oh, most civilians would think they were in trouble from the sheer amount, but these guys used intimidation tactics to keep people in line and they didn’t realize. 

Akio was getting over her shock. She was getting pissed off. And they had two two things that she was going to destroy them for the moment she loosened her hands: 1) hurt Mozu, 2) grabbed a child and most likely  _ touched her _ as an adult would to another. 

Yet… 

Well, her ANBU were not there, she couldn’t feel them right on top of her like usual. She didn’t have calvary on their way since no one but her ANBU and Mozu would know where she was. She didn’t know where she was or where they were going, either, yet she didn’t feel afraid like she knew she should be. Was she in shock? Possibly. Or was she compartmentalizing? Possibly. She wasn’t a medical professional, she didn’t know. 

“Oi, pay ‘ttention!” A hand came out to slap her across the face, her head starting to ache fiercely where it seemed he wore a ring. It caught in her hairline and dragged away a clump of bloody hair in the mostly empty tines that once held stones. “Fuck, di’n’ mean ta damage tha profit’.” 

“Ih’s dat stupid fake ring ya a’ways wanna wear, ya tool.” 

The man holding her let go so he could stand and snarl at the other man. “Oi! Fuck you!” 

“Yeh wish!” 

They quickly devolved into bickering and Akio took the time to try and focus her eyes. She needed information and she needed to not speak because she would not be kind and she would definitely go out of her way to antagonize them. She settled in once she knew they were bound and on foot under a small outcropping that at one time might have been a ninja outpost. They were probably within shouting distance of her land border. That meant she knew enough about where she was to make a calculated guess. 

“Com’on, time ta go.” 

She was wrenched from her thoughts and to her feet by the rough handling of her captors, the girl sobbing as she was touched but giving in easily. They were forced together, the two stumbling with their hands behind them and Akio grimaced as her long sleeves of the too big yukata flopped half wet with mud over her hands. All the better to hide her duplicity, she knew, but still disgusting. They were marched from the outcropping into a bit of wood that hid them from easy view but kept the river in sight. 

Oh. She knew exactly where she was. 

The girl, obviously from within the village, whimpered through her gag and stepped as close to Akio as she could without tripping. They walked. They walked for so long that even Akio was starting to feel it, her bare feet feeling tender after the prickly brush and sticks and limbs. They didn’t go too far once it started to get dark, the two men huddling them up into a cave and sitting down without fire. 

Akio settled against the wall, the girl curling up close but not touching. The rage in her coiled up her throat again but she pushed it into her breasts so she could breathe without a clouded mind. She would deal with them soon. It just took patience and her hands free. She wasn’t gagged for some reason but would take the lax attitude of her capture for what she could. She hoped she would be free enough when they met the mastermind of this operation to make them regret existence. 

Now, always, she held the weight of that cord in her heart with a tenacity so few could understand, would know to recognize. Her brother would live. She would accept nothing else. 

Morning brought them to Akio squating on the side of the barely worn path, relief coursing through her even as thirst surged in her and her belly grumbled with raging hunger. She couldn’t use her hands to wipe with anything and there was nothing clean enough for it to matter anyway. It was gross feeling the slow trickle down her thighs, to the creases of her knees, but she would take it if it meant she kept her hands hidden. She had wriggled out of most of the loops, the rope coiled in her hands even as her shoulders cramped and her fingers slowly numbed from the position. 

Time seemed slow as the hunger made bile touch the back of her throat and thirst left her mouth dry and tongue swollen. Mud caked her hair in hard shards, her clothes and body itching with it and sweat and offal. Her breasts aches with tenderness and her knees shook despite her best efforts. Again they stopped just as it was getting dark, the men bringing out leather skeins of tepid water that Akio had to be fed from their captors along with a strip of jerked beef and half a rice cake. 

Again, she worked her hands more and more free, careful and diligent. Silent. 

“Are yeh a mutie, girlie? I yain’t hear’ ya say a wor’ yet!” Akio looked up at him, exhausted from bad sleep and lack of food. She felt swollen and knew blood had run down the side of her temple. Her hold on the rope in her heart was starting to slack, her body too exhausted to hold it without fuel. “Tch! He done knocked yeh stupid! But if ya pretty enough, no one cares if a bitch is stupid, ya ken?” 

Akio didn’t care for him or his words, just waited as the younger girl was pushed into her side so the two could rest. This night, instead of sleeping, Akio made the effort to hurry up her work, strumming the loved ones in her heart from barest spider thread to undeniable cables of emotion. She couldn’t do it for long, her head pounding, but… 

it almost felt like… 

they were  _ responding… _

The third day of capture brought the girls stumbling into a camp at midday, small sobbing children and women and a trio of preteens in similar clothing all tied up not unlike she was. They all seemed to be in despair, even the children and preteens. There was a universal air of sorrow but it felt… 

_ False. _

It didn’t smell right, feel like it should. It was too unified. There wasn’t any anger or rage or defiance, especially from the preteens. There was, there was something  _ wrong  _ with this. It itched at her, like a bug bite she couldn’t reach. It was maddening. She couldn’t figure it out even as she twisted her hands free of the last loop and stared at the ground as discomfort filled her. 

She plucked the cords in her heart and felt a strange echo but didn’t think about it. 

The main character hadn’t shown up yet. 

That’s when a horse drew up, a woman who looked like a lady of means sliding from its back with a heavy thump. Not a ninja, this one. She was done up in perfumes and oils, Akio turning her face away to try and not be assaulted by scent. Her clothes were fine, even as they were easily marked as “rough” cloth, hair piled on her head like a crown. 

Akio hated her. 

“Is this all?” the woman sneered, striding across the grounds like a man and unpracticed. Akio knew that kind of stride from once upon a time. She stretched her hand out, a crop in it for show. There was no way this false queen was anything but a play actor in her own show, scripting lines that she spoke but unable to anticipate when deviations would happen. “I thought Fire Country had beautiful wares, not… this.” 

She lashed out, crop splitting one of the preteens open at the cheek to a strangled cry. She brought the blood to her nose, inhaling before licking it like a kitten from the leather. Horror crawled up Akio’s spine. 

“At least they’re delicious. Start prep. We leave at dawn.” 

It was silent before one of the men cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Miss, would you permit us hard workers to… have our compensation? This country has already stolen four of our guild in less than two days.” 

He was nicer looking than most, cute and boy next door handsome, even if all the men seemed unusually handsome. Akio had never felt more disgusted than now just at the sight of a smile. The woman who had asserted her leadership seemed to ponder, a show for those watching. Akio already knew the most probable answer. 

“Oh… alright. But you can’t take their hymens! That decreases their value, you understand.” 

The leering grins among the men had the woman responding in kind with a colder, sharper snarl of a smile. That seemed to be the last thing the men were looking for, many turning on the bound woman and more than one giving hungry pats to children. Akio felt her heart stop as a human ripped the front of a child’s top from them, the small figure unable to fight back and confused and afraid. Crying. She couldn’t force her eyes away until he forced his lips to the child’s and something in her went from tight to  _ snapped.  _

Akio saw  _ r e d…  _


	33. Sakumo is so gone, you guys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t go into too much detail bc I have a plan later. Akio will savor things and I’m being serious when I say my family is known for berserkers. It’s... well, it’s mostly my Dad’s side of the family. It causes mental blackouts during the actual fight, but we remember. I’ve been that angry, that furious, exactly once as a tween and I learned to keep my head after that bc I was babysitting very small humans at that point in my life and they didn’t need to witness something like that. It’s why I’m the laid back cousin — people forget what my blood stock is. 
> 
> It always shocks them when I bare my teeth.

THIRTY THREE 

The first thing she saw beyond the red haze was hair in a shock of unbound white. Hands out wide in surrender, eyes wide and beseeching, she recognized that face. She inhaled, copper in her nose, mouth, bile a bitter sharp bite against her lips… but under all that, she smelled and tasted ozone, a sharp, clean taste that was not so visceral, was cleansing. She had carried that on her, within her for days and it was, it was  _ safe. _

She whimpered before taking a step in his direction, body tender and her heart tender and her mind scattered and  _ tender.  _ She buckled before she did, trembling limbs giving way. 

She was caught. 

“Akio—“ 

That was her name? It was and it was not, but she claimed it anyway. Inhaling him, tasting sweat on her tongue and the richness of his flesh, she sighed. 

_ “Akio, please, answer me.” _

Soon. Soon. She closed her eyes as she rested against him, her body failing her after so long. She hoped he didn’t mind. 

Three Days Before: 

Sakumo had been just rising after a long morning lounging with his amorous wife when he felt something happen. It was if something inside him was thrown wide open and terror swamped him. Keiko gasped, clearly feeling it herself, their hands going to their chests, their hearts suddenly beating a tattoo into their ribs. This was followed shortly by a burst of killing intent so potent that they heard the cries of people from  _ beyond _ their compound. 

Akio. 

Something had happened to  _ Alpha. _

He dressed immediately, ANBU uniform. Keiko was swathed in interrogation colors if not the uniform, her body already showing so much earlier than Kakashi’s pregnancy. They parted without a word between them and made like the shadows they were towards the Tower. He went immediately to the Hokage, uncaring that he was interrupting a field debriefing. 

“Alpha is in trouble. I request a team.” 

It was silent as the room realized just what that meant, Sarutobi Hiruzen, half-ass not-Alpha going deathly pale. “No.” 

Sakumo bared his teeth, not caring that lightning sparked between them like a storm. He  _ was _ a storm, one of rage and terror and retribution. His eyes were nearly black with his rage. “I will retrieve my Alpha with or without permission, Hokage-sama. You can’t stop me.” 

It was a warning as much as a declaration. It was also a line in the sand that even the Hokage couldn’t ignore as Sakumo stood there with hair wild around his head and black garb declaring his intentions. His lips were closed but the lightning sparking in his mouth showed a string of teeth parted and ready to rend and tear. 

The man heaved a sigh even as Sakumo stood unbowed by the disappointment rolling from shoulders bending with strain. “You have twelve hours. Gather intel—“ 

ANBU Bear arrived then, a swirl of leaves and mud slinging away as if he could use chakra, the high window not even a deterrent with blood covering from sternum to thighs and still sluggishly rolling down his body. Mud coated everything else and the sense he radiated was worrying. 

“Nara Mozu was attacked while with Hamada Akio. He is in critical care.” 

Sakumo felt himself snarl loudly because that fawn was a young one under the care of  _ his _ Alpha. The tensions in the room couldn’t get too much higher, he thought, staring at the Hokage. The man finally bowed his head to the inevitable and swept his arm out. 

“Twelve hours. Gather a team. No sooner, am I understood?” 

Twelve hours was too long but he already pressed as much as he felt safe doing so. Sakumo brushed a kiss to the brow of his mate, taking a deep breath of the combined scents of them and Akio on her skin. Their pups, their  _ pack _ were at the den and unaware. He didn’t know how he was going to explain this to them. 

So instead, he was making his way to the hospital to check on the fawn. Shikatsu was there, standing at the observatory window as the healers worked. Sakumo came up to his side, both glancing at each other but otherwise silent and still. At least, for a moment. 

“There is a chakra signature wrapped around his,” the darker man began, black eyes sharp on the teen. “It’s not one I recognize.” 

Sakumo took a sharp breath, shocked. He expanded his senses, tasting the air and there it was. Akio. Her wild excitement of a chakra signature. All over the boy, a force of will that kept his heart beating and his lungs expanding. It almost felt like she was there, standing in the skin of the boy but also not. 

“Akio.” 

The sharp eyes of the Nara pierced him yet he felt nothing but gratitude because his Alpha wasn’t back to him yet because she was doing something else, something more important to her: saving one of her own in the only way she could. He didn’t know she could do this, felt awed that she could, that she  _ would _ do this for one of her own. He was coming to see that his Alpha was more than a force of nature, she was as a kami among mortals. She didn’t seem real so often because, for once, she was more than reality itself. 

He believed this wholeheartedly, without reservation. 

“He will live. Akio will stand for nothing less.” 

With that, he turned from the boy being put back together with knowledge he would survive and went to finish packing. His team would be at the Tower soon and he needed to stop worrying so much. Akio was something no one had seen before and she would not settle for anything less than a miracle. 

He had faith for the first time in a long time and it felt terrifying in the best way. 

They were barely patient as Hokage-sama hurried through scrolls, putting the one he needed into Sakumo’s hand. “All evidence needs to be here. We need to know what or who has your… Alpha. Best of luck.” 

Sakumo grabbed Bear and they wrapped themselves in his chakra until they were on the wall from where Bear had come over with the limp form of the boy in his arms. The air was still saturated in copper-blood-bile from the perforated stomach the boy no doubt had, but with it was him and Keiko and  _ Akio. _ Below that, the scent of strangely clean men, as if they hoped by washing they left no scent at all. 

Maybe that was true for some. Maybe the Inuzuka would have trouble finding it. He was not Inuzuka. He was not tame. Most importantly, he knew his Alpha, had tasted her and mated her and wallowed in her and they couldn’t hide that from him. When Hart and Panther met them, opposites in mask yet the second bests to him, they went off. Bear was here because he had seen what had happened. 

(Observation had been finished, yet Bear craved the gentle, fierce generosity as did all the ANBU assigned to his Alpha and Sakumo felt flattered that she could show kindness even to those who should scare her, should bring her caution and yet… 

and  _ yet… _ ) 

They ran as night fell, Sakumo following his nose. 

The next morning found them at a disused and abandoned outpost from the very onset of the village. It was a false hill, caved in on one side and smelled so deeply of his Alpha that he had to take a moment to think as something tremulous settled in his breast. She was alive and well, the scent of her strongest in the brush several steps from the cave-like entrance to the old outpost. 

They were delayed in following since they had to dismantle the place and frustration filled him. Every minute they spent pulling down the outpost was one less minute spent catching up. He understood, he did, but that mattered little when whatever his Alpha was doing ate at him. The fear was turning to rage, each breath fanning blue flames with wrath. 

He needed to be there. 

They came upon the second overnight rest stop, so much further down. Oh, by Shinobi matters, it was barely a half day of travel, but they were already behind and having to pull down this ancient bolt hole was galling when he wanted to be elsewhere so very badly. His fingers tapped against his thigh, his feet moved more now in an hour than in the last day. He made no sound, but his restless movements had his team on edge as he prowled the edges of the once camp. 

“She will be well.” 

Bear stood in front of him, one of the few comrades that did not balk at his tendencies to be less human, less tame than others like him. He was a killer, a murderer for hire and his very inhuman responses made him unpredictable and a dangerous opponent. Many, though they fought with him, avoided him off the battlefield since they could not gentle him to their hands. He made them afraid. 

Bear was one of very few acceptions. “She is. I know.” 

There was an air of disbelief yet unquestioning relief. Sakumo didn’t lie. He was a wolf and had no patience for the practice. Bear understood more than most ever would. At the very least, he asked for clarification. 

“Then I am glad.” 

The ground rumbled and shook in a localized earthquake that neither paid any mind to. Sakumo stared in the direction his Alpha walked, exhaustion starting to curl inside him, not his own but the deep pull of depleting chakra was familiar even when it was not himself at the mercy of such a condition. He pushed up against that feeling with himself, his very soul bared to her. She did not take but it seemed to bring comfort in some way. 

In moments, they were off again, Sakumo not even needing his nose, just his chakra to guide him. 

Morning brushed the tops of the trees, their movements ceaseless and their stamina peerless. Time seemed to stretch when one was a part of the morning, the gild of fresh sun rays steaming their night vision and bringing a glow to everything it touched. It made the world seem abstract, untouched. 

It was a pretty lie. 

Morning raced into early lunch hours, not quite noon but not that far off, either. They barely crested the trees of a hill when Sakumo stumbled to a stop. His chest heaved as something like a sun going supernova burst in his mouth, flooded his veins. It was not himself, not this. It was like fire and lightning flooded him, the earth falling from his feet even as the wind stole his breath. It was violent, a raging storm, a screaming, snarling ocean of rage tucked into a small stone that fit within his chest. 

Akio. 

Something had happened. 

Heart going from the lax beat of a run to a fierce drumming that he hadn’t felt since he was a child, Sakumo leapt from the trees to the ground, sliding between boughs and brush until he was upon the encampment. His breath caught as he saw something that both terrified and aroused him like nothing else: his small civilian Alpha, all soft dumpling curves breathing literal fire as she wrenched an arm from the body of a shrill screaming man. 

He didn’t scream for long as Akio took a blade from his hip and stabbed him cleanly through the heart. He dropped from her like a lead weight and she let him and his blade both fall. The woman he barely noticed sprinted for a horse that was stamping in terror. His Alpha didn’t wait to move, faster than he had ever seen her before, pouncing with all animal urgency and no human thought, feet planting on the woman’s hips from behind as Akio bent her head back. 

The moment they touched the ground, a sickly crunch sounded out like a miniature explosion. That’s when the actual screaming started, children colliding and huddling in terror while the adults ran or tried to hide in plain sight. Seeing as so many were trussed up, the only successful ones were the men who his Alpha went after with the wrath of a forsaken god of war. 

The first one she reached, she pounced, taking him down like she did the woman, wrenching him back and letting him flop with his head at the wrong angle. She took blades from his body, the tanto a surprise addition along with a food knife. The food knife went at the furthest man, grazing his side and making him stumble. Akio was moving well before then, cutting one man clear in half with the sword in hand. It was like she was cutting a side of beef with the motions, all smooth gliding slices to part rib from muscle. She was a butcher in a shop of meat, nearly flaying it from bone as she pinned one man, gutting him like a fresh kill. Yet, after each one, she would merely continue, a blaze of silent snarls backlit by flaming tongues and sparking fingertips. 

Sakumo whimpered when his Alpha prettily removed an arm with one swing, then a leg. She left the man screeching and rolling on the ground as she bolted for another, his eyes wild as he was hunted. It was poetry to watch, blood in sharp, full arcs and bodies dropping to the ground. Blood splattered over dark cheeks and in darker hair, casting the civilian in the light of a bloody sunset. These men were not expecting resistance and Akio, his Alpha, was utterly destroying them. 

Someone, probably Hart, snagged one man before he went too far, wrapping him in shadows and pulling him away from the deadly dance. 

“We should probably stop her,” commented Panther. Bear shrugged but made no move to do so and Hart raised his hands In surrender. 

Sakumo huffed in amusement even as Akio literally breathed fire at one man, his clothes catching like oil soaked tinder. His voice rose on terrified, hurt screams before hands raked over his throat, lightning silencing him as it sparked off her fingertips. Then she stumbled. Sakumo felt his breath catch, his mind's eye searching inward until he felt the utter exhaustion. 

Yes, it was time to end this. 

He stepped forward, eyes only on the woman who held his entire world within her small hands. “Akio? It is time for us to go.” 

No reaction. His heart started thumping into his ribs. Berserking? His calm, coolheaded Alpha a  _ berserker? _ Those kind of people were double bladed and as likely to attack friend as foe if far enough gone. 

“Alpha?” 

He took off his mask, his hair around his shoulders as it was when intimate with his Alpha or mate. He dropped his mask, no care as he walked forward one slow step at a time. She bared her teeth at him but didn’t move, head tilting first one way, then the other. Her light gray eyes were sharp and piercing, though a trick of the light made it look like she had more than one pupil for a moment. Then she swayed, stumbling for the first time. Nerveless fingers dropped the tanto, a low whimper in her throat. She stepped forward, one step and her eyes started to lose focus. 

Then another. 

And another. 

Sakumo stepped forward, hands out, and she whimpered in fear and sorrow, limbs now like leaves in a storm. “Akio?” 

No answer. 

She whimpered, a high and a terror-filled keen as her legs gave out. Sakumo couldn’t stop himself moving, reaching her before she collapsed to the bloody, dusty ground. “Akio, are you hurt?” 

Nothing. Even as she turned to him, fear gripped his heart as her prescience within him started to dwindle. Her tongue, dry and rough on his jaw, scared him more than he wanted to admit. She was dangerously dehydrated if her tongue was that bad off. Cradling her, he tried to reach her. 

_ “Akio, please, answer me.” _

She barely smiled before going limp, her body sagging in his arms. Her chakra was dangerously low but was easily recovered. Her dehydration would kill her well before then and the grip of that knowledge was more than enough to have him leaving his comrades to their own devices as he raced back to the village, heart in his throat and no words beyond “I have to go” to let them know. 

It was a very long trip back. 


	34. author is sleep deprived and forgot half of what is in the chapter, oops

THIRTY FOUR 

Sakumo had made the trip back in under twelve hours, his body exhausted but his Alpha in capable hands even as he sat sentinel. Only once did he turn away the healer that his Alpha had a grudge with, face cold and chakra a storm under his skin. That had been sixteen hours ago. 

Hart stepped into the room, eyes tracing the woman on the bed. “She is terrifying.” 

Sakumo bared his teeth in what might have been a smile. “Yes.” 

The silence returned before Hart broke protocol and took off his mask, a Nara looking back at him with sharp, dangerous eyes. Though on opposite ends of the spectrum, the Hatake and Nara were often allies before the villages existed and they understood that neither were as human as others thought they should be. The Inuzuka were another thing altogether, tamed early on to the Shogun’s hand and later the Daimyo’s. They were rowdy but were known as tame. 

Sakumo would never be tamed to hand to anyone but Akio and his wife. 

The Nara had never been tamed but they were friendly with those they deemed worth the time and effort to interact with. It was a clever ruse for when they would rear back and stomp one to death with razor hooves and gore one with hand long tines upon their heads. Just because they refused to eat the flesh of others didn’t make them less dangerous, just less terrifying at first. 

“She is fostering Mozu.” 

Sakumo raised a brow as if asking what the man wanted. In truth, he had his suspicions. 

“I am his father, Nara Setsuna.” 

Ah. 

“Mm.” He presses his hand to her hip, the feel of her solid under his hands helping him handle the lack of presence. “She calls him brother.” 

The man seemed to blink in astonishment if his face did anything but remain lax and unresponsive. Sakumo shrugged even as he watched his Alpha breathe deeply. Sitting in the silence, they waited. 

At thirty-seven hours, Bear and Panther both showed up to check on Akio. Bear stepped close to Sakumo, leaning down so his mouth was by Sakumo’s naked ear. “I have put the victims on the farm. Keiko-sama sends her regards and hopes to see Alpha soon.” 

Sakumo relaxed a little more, his wife at their den, caring for the young and assessing the new tentative pups. The room itself seemed to be a balm with Akio’s chakra rising in calm, lapping waves like the ocean on a sanded beach. It was so different to the fire and lightning of before, breath whisked away with a screaming wind to suck the air straight from one’s lungs. She felt steady once again, the earth solid and firm beneath weary feet. 

What a contradiction. 

After some time, Panther pulled off his mask revealing Uchiha Kagami. He sealed the door with a genjutsu and looked at Sakumo. “Your Alpha has my dear nephew in her care. I wish to thank her.” 

Sakumo hummed, taking her hand in his. “She doesn’t care so much about thanks. She just wants the kids to be happy and healthy and will do what she has to to make it happen.” Her fingers twitched in his, a sure sign she was waking up. “Alpha just wants  _ you _ to relax and has even drafted up two different missions to that effect. She has quite the crush on you.” 

The stoic Uchiha blew said stoic image away when he went deep red, hiding his face with his hand. Bear laughed a big booming chuckle even as Setsuna huffed in humor. Akio stirred in the bed and looked at them through bleary eyes and a small smile. 

“It’s true.” 

The sound of her voice is raspy and strained, catching attention immediately. Sakumo has her hand between his, heart hammering as he leaned forward. “Akio…” 

She turned to him, eyes bright and warm. Bear, the only not to break protocol, leaned over with a small cup of water and a tube straw for prone patients. She sipped gratefully, leaving her arm down after the first attempt had been stalled by restraints. Necessary restraints seeing how Akio had almost killed more than one unknown medical personnel. 

“You scared me.” Sakumo stated, bold and heavy in the air. Shinobi didn’t just admit they were afraid. It was unspoken, a rule or a taboo, no one knew. “I can’t live a life without, Alpha.” 

She hummed, jerking at her restraints again. Bear obligingly unbuckled them and one hand went to Sakumo’s face. The other she bent only to hiss, the needle in her arm keeping her from bending it. “Oh, Papa Wolf,” she murmured to him, all gentle croons that made his heart flutter. “It would take more than those assholes to do me in.” 

Sakumo clasped her hand to his face, one hand on her wrist, finger to her pulse, the other cupping her fingers to his cheek. “You can’t know that.” 

Akio smiled, a baring if teeth. A declaration. A fierce snarl of defiance. “I can because I wouldn’t  _ let _ them.” 

For the first time in his ninja career, Sakumo bowed his head into someone’s hand and he cried in relief. 

“So, how are the children?” 

“Uh… good?” 

“There was a pause in there. Why was there a pause?” 

“...” 

“Sakumo.” 

“So… Obito-kun may or may not have developed his Sharingan.” 

“… Oh no. My baby! How?!”

“He may or may not have witnessed me running through the fields with you limp and covered in blood…?” 

“...!!!!” 

“Really, besides kitten, how are the kids?” 

“They’re fine. Himiko, Hanzō, and Akira are fine. Chihiro-kun is a little panicky, but we expected that.” 

“And everyone else?” 

“They’ll be fine. The older kids have it under control. Hana didn’t even burn the rice!” 

“Oh, good for her!” 

Akio hated hospitals. They were scented with the sick, the dying, the overwhelming acid of cleaning supplies that left a bitter tang on her tongue. There was nothing inherently wrong with them, she just couldn’t stand them. Spending time as a visitor was bad enough but being a participant was vastly annoying. Sitting up in bed after three days and being allowed to pee on her own was satisfying. That she showered despite what the nurses said, now clean and combing out her hair nude on the hospital bed, she should have expected something to go sideways. 

The first to enter from the clatter and noise outside her door was the Nara clan head. The man froze at the sight of her, eyes going wide. He doesn’t get to stand there, Uncle and the Uchiha head being forced through the door, Keiko right behind them with a fan in hand. After  _ them _ is the Hokage and Sakumo, Bear and Bull standing like imposing bookends at the door. 

By the time everyone realized she was sitting there nude and brushing her hair, the door was closed and shock filled the room with a miasma of intense scrutiny. Akio just waved her brush at them. “Rude.” 

She made no attempts to cover up nor hide her nudity, uncaring as she finally got her hip length mass of hair into a semblance of tamed waves instead of kinks, lazy curls, and thorns that stuck straight out. She pulled it over her shoulder, working her fingers into the mass to start braiding. “Well? Is no one going to say anything? I am hoping to leave today, after all, and do not want to dilly dally because you cannot handle one nude woman.” 

The Hokage went red, turning around. The Uchiha clan head floundered before following his Kage’s example, pulling the mesmerized Uncle around with him once he realized his clansman hadn’t moved. Keiko bit her lip on a smile before chortling, slinking over to kiss her. Akio returned the kiss hungrily, hands going to the light face of her pack member. “We missed you.  _ I _ missed you, Alpha.” 

Akio kissed her brow, all warm comfort. “Well, I would never leave you that easily, my Keiko.” When the older woman pulled away, Akio let her and smiled at Sakumo, holding out her hand. He took it, kissing her knuckles in a move learned from herself. It was too sweet and she reeled him close to kiss him lovingly. “Hello, my wolf. How are the pups?” 

He bowed his head. “They are doing well, though Obito and Chihiro have asked after you again, Alpha. They miss you.” 

She kissed his cheek, nuzzling him. “Well, I miss them, too. We can remedy that today.” She turned from him, not dismissing him but putting her focus on the rest of the occupants. Seeing as she  _ was _ nude, it made it hard for some to… focus. “Bear, Bull! I’ve missed you two. How have you been? Eating well? Taking care of yourselves?” 

The two saluted and signed off an affirmative, her lips curving into an easy smile. She looked up at Bear. “You saved my Mozu. Thank you, Bear.” 

The figure seemed to get bashful, tapping their fingers as they looked down. She pressed fingers to her mouth to hide her soft smile, eyes warm and happy. The Hokage cleared his throat, Sarutobi Hiruzen peeking over his shoulder. He went red a second time. 

“Are you not going to cover up, Hamada-san?” 

Akio shrugged, Sakumo muffling a laugh in her shoulder even as Keiko turned away to cackle into Akio’s side. “I have nothing everyone here hasn’t seen at least once and I have no shame of my body. To be honest, I would rather clothing that didn’t smell of the dead, the sick, or the dying.” 

The man sighed, covering his face with his hands. “So be it.” He turned to face her, cheeks red and eyes suspiciously dropping before he forcibly made eye contact. “I would like to speak with you about what happened six days hence.” 

She nodded, tugging Sakumo behind her even as Keiko settled almost in her lap. Sliding her legs around Keiko, Akio allowed her Packmate and friend to cuddle her. While this had been traumatic and she still felt insecure at times, it had been so much worse for her mated pair. The heavy, hot arms around her shoulders from Sakumo and the face pressed into her middle from Keiko were more than signs enough that it had been bad. The sporadic dreams of slicing someone like she had carved a side of beef left her sick and exhausted, but they had to live through so much worse. Waiting often  _ was _ the worst. 

Bear and Bull, in a surprising move, stood at her back, hands finding her knees as if to ground themselves with her. Sarutobi-sama didn’t seem happy about that at all. He didn’t saying anything, however, and sat in a chair that materialized. “I have been told you were the one responsible for the…  _ disbandment  _ of the Ruby Empress’ human trafficking ring. I would like to thank you for your service.” 

Akio watched as he gave a shallow bow, brows furrowing. “You wouldn’t be here for something that trite.” It was stated softly, her gray eyes pale moons in her face. She was as calm as she could manage, one hand curling around Keiko’s neck and the other around Sakumo’s nape. “What has happened, Hokage-sama?” 

The man sighed, muttering something about  _ lost chances _ that she kindly ignored. Oh yes. She had deliberately lost her chance to murder other children when she decided she did not wish to be a shinobi. “The woman. The named Ruby Empress, she is— _ was _ a noble’s daughter. To say the father is displeased is putting it lightly. He had contracted his child to a fellow noble and now that his only daughter cannot marry the son… it is causing tensions.” 

Akio frowned. “How is that my problem? As far as I’m concerned, it was self-defense.” 

The slightly older man frowned right back, hands coming together. “You could have possibly taken her in unharmed. She was a civilian.” 

Akio bared her teeth. “Well then,  **_I am a civilian, too_ ** _ , _ yet I’m not afforded the benefit of a doubt. I have never sought knowledge on how to kill someone, I have no training, and the only blade I have ever carried is a food blade.” She leaned forward. “How does it make sense that I am in trouble for protecting not only myself but the children that were being raped by the men under her command? It did end up with her dead but that’s part of what she chose to do when she decided she wanted to traffic children as sex slaves.” 

The Hokage looked baffled, as if suddenly reminded that she was only a tenuous at best citizen of his vaunted village. Biting her cheek to keep from snarling at the most powerful man in the village, she narrowed her eyes. He gathered himself, his mouth working. “You have received no training? At all?” When she shook her head, he crossed his legs, leaning forward as he propped his elbows on his knees, hands masking his mouth. “That eases and complicates everything. I can return that my citizen defended herself as best she could. We have a witness, but that is easy enough to take care of.” 

Normally, Akio would be all for sheltering someone from the machinations of authority figures. Normally, she wouldn’t be contemplating ripping their throats out with her teeth. “I mean. More power to you, Hokage-sama. If you need me to go to the Fire Daimyo, give me a few days to set up something. Planting starts very soon and I should have been able to survey the fields already. Instead, I’m dealing with… this.” 

Sakumo huffed into her neck even as the Hokage seemed to gain a gleam in his brown eyes. “Reason for visit to the Daimyo?” 

“Family scrolls, Hokage-sama. I’m eighteen now and I need to know what is in store for myself and any children I will bare.” 

He let a brow wing up and she politely ignored him inquiring into clan secrets without words. No need to bring the government down around his ears. That would be rude. Turning her face away in a demure action, she allowed him a moment to think that wouldn’t start a clan war in the hospital. The Sarutobi were on very thin ice with the Shuiji, though her mother hadn’t gone by that clan name well before she married. In fact, she only knew the name because of her family crest. Maybe her mother had been hoping the line would die. 

“As you say, Hamada-san. I can set up an escort.” 

Oh, uh. No. Not happening. Smiling, lips baring teeth, she tightened her hold on her pack mates. “I would like to request my escort, Hokage-sama. I would like for my kitten’s uncle to be one of my escort along with Bear. I would ask for my handsome wolf but… well, he’s been busy these past weeks. Probably because he’s been all but run ragged.” The reprimand was easily heard and exceptionally daring. She didn’t care. The Hokage needed to be more conscientious of his people and running them to death was not how one did that. “I do not mind having others with me, but I would like to employ both of them for my duration at Court.” 

The older man frowned behind his hands, Akio tracking the movement at the ears, in the corners of his eyes, in the tensing of his neck. “I could send an advisor. Perhaps Himura Danzō?” 

Akio stared at the aged man and thought to herself that he couldn’t be that blind. That he could  _ not _ be that foolish. “Not on your life. I do not trust him. I will not have him as an audience to my very strange life if I can help it.” The Hokage opened his mouth and she stared him down. “No, Hokage-sama. I would better take Senju Tsunade or Orochimaru or even  _ Jiraiya _ as companions in your service than a man I cannot trust to have my best interests at heart even when paid to do so.” 

“I do not wish to make this a decree, Hamada-san, but if I must, I will.” 

“Pick anyone else, then. I cannot trust a man who came into my parents’ house and stole my four brothers and then made my parents forget they even existed.” Her voice lowered. “I will not put myself in danger to appease you, Hokage-sama.” 

The man appeared troubled, forehead becoming wrinkled as his eyebrows drew together. He was silent for a long while, staring at her eyes with intensity. “You do not trust my friend. You do not trust  _ me. _ I am unsure how to remedy things but I am still reeling over you having siblings.” 

She gave a small smile. “Four brothers, all older, all  _ gone. _ ” She sighed. “All alive, though only one is within the borders of the village at any time. And anyway, I’m being truthful and upfront with you: I cannot trust a man who lets someone like Danzō roam freely. Either he has the power of the Hokage and can do whatever he wants whenever he wants or he’s delusional or he’s just that greedy. Whatever it is, you’ll find only those who have never once interacted with him as inferiors like him. Everyone else who doesn’t like him seem to be mind whammied and confused.” 

Except her. 

“Except you.” The Hokage didn’t look anything. No emotions, to ticks. Just a statue. “And why is that.” 

Akio shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what I hope to find.” 

The Hokage hummed. “And your mother never said?” 

“She loved the idea of me, once. She didn’t love  _ me _ as I am, nor did she want me as a daughter. So no. I was supposed to be sons, not a daughter. The line was going to die with Mother.” She shrugged. “She never  _ wanted _ me as a  _ girl, _ Hokage-sama, so I know next to nothing beyond what I gleaned on my own.” 

The room stilled for a moment at the very idea of someone letting a clan line die out. Of not wanting a child that could continue said line. Of  _ hiding clan information  _ from the child  _ inheriting _ the clan line. It was anathema to the very core of the village. 

Akio cleared her throat. They could unpack that later. “So, about my kidnapping into potential sexual slavery! Let’s start from there.” 

The Hokage visibly started as his eyes widened. Akio was good at derailing the thought process. She was quite proud of it. 

“Yes… lets. Recount what you can remember, Hamada-san.” 

She did, stopping twice to sip some water. The man seemed flabbergasted as was the rest of the room. “And you have had no training?” 

Akio rolled her eyes. “Common. Sense. That beats people more often than not. No one seems to have a working brain outside of one very specific set of skills, so it’s easy to baffle them with the brilliance of not panicking and  _ then _ smacking them about.” 

The Shinobi collective choked, Sakumo and Keiko both devolving into giggles that they tried so hard to suppress that they went straight to cackling. Akio bit her lip, a big grin pulling at her mouth. The Hokage sat back with a laugh, head falling back and baring his neck. It was a relaxed, unplanned gesture and Akio felt a little appeased that he was being reasonable and  _ listening _ to what she had to say. She knew she was a hard sale, but she also she wasn’t entirely wrong.  _ She did not lie. _ Not if she could help it, and as an adult, she could. 

Then Akio squirmed. “But, hm, how to phrase this? My eyeballs are about to float out of my head. Excuse me while I relieve myself.” 

Sliding from the comfortable pile of limbs, she trotted to the toilet, closing the door behind her. 

Ah. To be full of fluids again. 

When she finished, the Hokage was gone with a missive that allowed her to pick up to four members for her escort since she had been prioritized as an asset but also a danger magnet. Which…  _ true. _

The Uchiha head was now sitting in the chair, face carefully averted until Uncle handed her his top layer. The bared forearms were thick with muscle, corded and heavy. They lead to impressive shoulders, straining the under layer when he breathed deep. It was unfair how quickly her brain power dissolved when faced with that richly colored skin and muscles. Unlike most Uchiha, Uncle was a darker, tanned variant and that made her stupid with interest. 

Interest that Keiko and Sakumo both noticed. “So the lady likes the pretty uncle, hm?” whispered Sakumo in her ear which did not help. At all. Taking the robe, she ignored the men as she allowed the long ends to trail the floor around her legs and the middle to gape, her arms swathed in fabric. Smirking at Uncle when his eyes dipped, she sat on the bed, not exactly going out of her way to cover up as the loose ends of her braid curled over her torso and to her waist. 

“Now that I have something on, will you at least look at me when you say what you have to?” 

The Uchiha head did so, choking even when his eyes flared red for the barest second as he gasped in shock. She didn’t know why but she was getting tired and she still had one more clan to deal with after this, the Nara Head napping on the adjacent bed, reclining not unlike a cat but silent and almost forgotten. 

“By the gods…” 

Uncle cleared his throat, his clan head pulling himself together when Uncle’s heavy hand pressed into the head’s shoulder. Akio politely allowed them a moment to gather themselves. Uncle stepped forward. 

“My nephew seems to be in possession of the Sharingan. It would be my pleasure to bring him back to the clan housing so that he may train and attend the academy.” 

Her attention was firmly on them, the feeling rising inside her ribs not a good one at all. Akio narrowed her eyes, lips pulling down. “You. Want to put. A five year old. In the academy.” 

The room seemed to drop in temperature, many of the ones present shivering with foreboding. 

“We just want to train him—“ 

Akio leaned forward, eyes dangerous. “You want to break him down and put him into a mold he doesn’t fit in and, when he snaps, you’ll blame it on the madness of the family line and not that you’ve pushed a toddler into something he is not ready for.” 

They steadily pale as she speaks, the room temperature dropping until their breaths fog. She takes a deep breath, fire leaking around the corners before she reigns it in, the oppressive push of a wrathful mother bear dwindling until only the feeling of limp, shaking limbs lingers. It’s not killing intent. It’s not meant to show how she will kill them. It is something altogether worse. It’s a promise to keep them alive long enough to regret. 

None of them have felt that before, just now understanding how bad of an idea it is to push on this one thing. 

“When my baby brother and my son are of an age and decide, they will join the academy or they will not.” She gazes at them with all the patience of a dragon forgotten, turned into a mountain from simple forgetful memories until she is roused. “But not before. Yes, he has activated his Sharingan. No, that does not give you blanket permission to destroy him in the name of the clan. I do not care who you think you are, but I will burn your lives to the ground if necessary to get my point across.” 

“He is Uchiha.” 

She glanced at Uncle, eyes sharp. “He is a  _ boy. first. _ Then, and only then, is he an Uchiha. Every child is  _ just _ a child. It’s those with authority that take that too early and tell them they are enemies, alienated, drowned in a cesspit of responsibility that is on the adults’ heads, not that of a child.” She took a breath and felt heat in her throat and from her lips. “And this forsaken village keeps forgetting that we are sending babes into the arms of eternal sleep every. single. day. If I could, I would put my foot down and up the acceptance and the graduation ages.” 

She had to close her eyes, the ache in them too much to bare as they became tender to the light. “My answer is  _ not yet. _ Once he is of an age, then yes. Train him physically, start him with stretches and calisthenics, but do not push him into a life he may not wish.” 

She had to calm down, the fire in her throat was agitating the lightning in her heart and the ground was falling away from her feet as the wind in her lungs readied to fuel the fire. She had to center. To breathe. To reach for the earth and press her face into the cool waters. She was a being of Nature and that meant finding a balance. That meant being steady so that everything that was inside would remain where it should unless properly provoked. 

She hadn’t been trained in this, she hadn’t gone to school nor had classes, never once reached for this before Mozu and desperation had hit her. 

She was as she was and she was going to figure this out her way so that she could keep her head. While incredibly useful, she had no real need for it at this point. Probably not again. This had to be an anomaly. 

It had to be. 

“That. That is my answer. Not. Yet.” 

The duo seemed to contemplate her for a moment, the head leaning forward because the last time, they had clashed like a titan to a mortal and it had not gone well. From the rumors, if he tried to storm her farm, tried to take action, she would destroy him and those like him with little difficulty. Maybe it was exaggerated, maybe it wasn’t, but Uchiha Inabikari had seen her once already and had heard enough a second time to put credence to his father’s stories of a woman who looked incredibly like Hamada Akio wrecking an entire village of thieves to for the sake of those in her care. 

He liked not being stupid, thank you very much. 

Akio didn’t see any of this as she tried to control her temper and her chakra because it was so wild, spilling from the pathways like blood spilling over veins. She was hemorrhaging with it and it was past time she put in order. It would take practice but already she was tucking it back inside, gently coaxing it to keep within the streams made for it. Relief hit her at once, a strain on her body relaxing in a way she hadn’t noticed because  _ her _ normal was not  _ normal. _

Opening her eyes, she looked at the duo who were conversing quietly before the head nodded at her. Uncle bowed, turning to Akio. 

“My nephew, if you will it, shall remain in your care. I, Uchiha Kagami, will gladly allow him to choose his path as his guardian and mentor.” 

Akio bit her lip as that name rang a loud, screaming bell in the back of her mind but nothing came of it. She let it go, looking at the handsome uncle. Uchiha Kagami. “I will happily care for my Obito-kitten, Kagami-san. I would like to speak with you later, however.” 

Handsome Uncle, Uchiha Kagami, bowed as equals, quick to leave with his clan head when the man stood to leave. Akio sat stunned for a moment, the idea that he saw her as an equal baffling. She must have sat long enough that even the Nara was getting impatient when he set up and crossed his legs, staring at her like she was a particularly interesting puzzle. 

“Nara Shikatsu. Pleasure. Let’s talk about Mozu.” 

They talked about Mozu, origami, languages, her thoughts on the village (that had gotten more than one pair of raised eyebrows when she answered honestly), government (actual gasps), and children. Nara Shikatsu seemed impressed and wildly interested in her thought process. He also seemed to be  _ interested _ which, for him as he stated, was something that was vastly uncommon. 

“Oh, you’re asexual? That would explain some things. Does your wife have a lover on the side to help with her urges or has she been alone and abstinent since your son was born?” 

The room went quiet before there were entire reams of paper’s worth of sexual orientation, preference, inclination, qualifications, and a hundred other little nit picky details thrown around between the two. Gender cake up and was bandied about like a volleyball, the duo snipping and sniping, agreeing to disagree, and agreeing for the sake of good sense. Akio was impressed with new ideas being presented and taken in as worthy information. It felt good to speak and be heard but to also debate what constituted specifics. She was grinning wide even as she gave a scathing rebuttal to something Shikatsu uttered in ignorance and bigotry. 

What she hammered home was that being asexual and aromantic was entirely natural, if less common that the stereotypical man-and-woman sexually inclined couples. Just because someone was unwilling to copulate didn’t mean they were wrong or broken. It just was. Sure, she was on the immediate opposite end of that bar, but that didn’t change the facts. 

“And anyway, you don’t actually have to have sex with someone to have a child. If you don’t want to copulate, you can just ejaculate sperm into a clean medical dish and just have a medical professional put it in with a pipette or something. It’s not  _ that _ hard.” 

There was a long moment of silence as the room let that thought flow into their brains before the Nara firmly grabbed the pillow from his bed, pressed his face into the fluffy item, and yowled not unlike a cat trod on. Akio blinked at the display, taken aback. “Did… did I say… something wrong?” 

Sakumo put a hand on her shoulder. “You just revolutionized the life of Shinobi the world over.” 

Blinking again, she turned to Keiko who was blinking rapidly, mouth agape. Deciding that she had fucked up enough for the day, Akio stopped it there, standing to start getting dressed. She tucked the borrowed over robe around her frame, well aware it was for a much larger man when the sleeves ate up her hands to the point she ended up folding more than half the sleeve back just so she could tie herself in. A bland, black obi was handed over from Bull, Akio tying it herself. 

It was simple, easy, and made her look like a hooker. She honestly did. not. care. She wanted to be home with her babies and her brothers and her  _ Pack. _ She had been surrounded for days and restless sleep and bags under her eyes. It was time to see if she would have a panic attack. Better now than later when it could get her caught off guard or even killed. 

“I have an Uchiha to speak with and need to be  _ home. _ We’ll shelve this for later, alright? Wonderful!” Out the door she went. 

Uchiha Kagami was well away in his clan housing, Akio presumed as she hurried from the hospital. No one stopped her and Bull and Bear were quick to catch up, having a silent conversation over her head until Keiko and Sakumo all but appeared from thin air just as she hit the doors. The feel of the sun was lovely and Akio tilted her face up, reveling in the feel of natural light and a soft breeze that was much warmer than she remembered. Spring was upon them already and she had very little time to get her affairs in order. 

Smiling to herself as she breathed deep, she felt a slender hand slide into her own. On the other side, a larger hand did as well. Both were tough with callouses, one more so than the other, but also smooth from selfcare. Pulling Keiko in for a sweet kiss, then Sakumo, she sighed before walking forward. It was past time she saw her babies. 


	35. That’s where all that panic went, Hana the Child Queen, Runnin runnin and runnin runnin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m actually exhausted today. And sick. Something has gotta give.

THIRTY FIVE 

Akio settled in at her house with ill ease, holding her smallest sons to her chest as they stood with their little chubby baby legs across her forearm. One had his hands in her borrowed clothing, the other fistfuls of hair that had her wincing every time he pulled too hard, but she didn’t want to put them down. She wanted to curl them inside her body and hide them, spirit them away from cruelty. She couldn’t,  _ wouldn’t  _ but the urge resisted sense. 

She was safe. 

She was home. 

She was well. 

She should be relaxing. 

Tugging Chihiro, Himiko, and Obito closer, she thrummed with too much energy and anxiety with not nearly enough things to do to handle the symptoms. The mere thought of letting the kids out of her sight flew right past rage into panic. 

This was what had concerned her so much. The need to keep them close. It hadn’t even been a thing until she saw them, those little faces looking up at her with worry and happiness that the panic she had suppressed until then had boiled up like a tide. Those needs, those instincts went wild, saying that they could be in danger. That she had to hoard them away safely. She knew that it wasn’t a useful solution, knew it would only bring problems, but the  _ instinct _ was almost too much. 

Taking a deep breath, she allowed their happy, confused scents filled her head. She was not going to  _ cage _ her children to keep them safe. She was going to  _ teach _ them and defend them until  _ they _ could defend  _ themselves. _ She was not going to squirrel them away. No. She was better than that, more than blind instinct and terror. 

The shaking of her limbs was enough to alert Sakumo to her distress even as Keiko herded the older children along to the youngest toddler wards. Tomorrow, she was sending for someone to build two more houses just like this, money be-damned. For this night, she needed a moment to just… hold her children. To exist. 

The new children were being tended in the overhead while the adults outside were speaking with a chunin, the man small and unassuming. Akio figured he was probably ANBU and could kill someone with a flick of his fingers and a gust of air. He smelled lightly of cooked cherries and elderberries and she could only think of the plants her grandmother had taught her about. 

The ones that were innocuous. The ones that would kill by accident as much as by purposeful application. They were tasty but eating the hearts of either of them would poison a person with cyanide. Just a few wasn’t that much of an issue but eating as many as most people would tended to leave them heaving and-or half dead. 

But that was neither here nor there. Her head throbbed with overload as her paranoia tried to intake too much information from too many sources. She was  _ safe. _ She was  _ home. _ She needed to  _ calm down. _

What she needed was to get her life back in order. And time. Always, always time. 

Two weeks passed. The panic lessened enough that the air didn’t leave her choking when any of the kids left her sight. In three days, Akio was to leave for the capital. She had her four escorts picked out, three dogs, and the firm, sturdy hand of her Setsuko-oba with her as they combed through her kimono and yukata and everything else. Needless to say, she had to buy more and Akio was not a short or even average woman. She was just that much too tall and her clan name was all but lost to time, so of course she couldn’t go into the clan catered businesses. 

She wasn’t that sad — she didn’t want to pull too much from the farm coffers just so she was  _ fashionable  _ or whatever she needed to be. There were more things she had to worry about. Like the fields finished being plowed and seed needing to hit the ground. She didn’t have too much trouble, putting much of what she had harvested in baskets for sale and a small percentage for replanting. She turned to Hana, wrapping her arm around the girl. 

“I need you to keep my house running while I’m away, pretty girl. Can you do that for me?” The girl under her arm smiled shyly, nodding even as she leaned into Akio’s embrace carefully. “That’s my girl. And don’t worry if things go strange—my life is a comedy of  _ errors. _ I’m expecting  _ something _ to go pear-shaped.” 

Hana giggled, turning to wrap her arms around Akio’s waist. The girl was so short but also so clever when allowed to run wild. Akio hoped to get her lessons in a variety of things including etiquette, finances, and politics so that Hana could pick and choose her future. Giving an education so far above her supposed station would help the child in any field she decided to take an interest. And if she decided to marry? Well, Akio was protective of her ward and the one asking her hand would have to be up to her soaring standards. 

Tugging her close, she kissed the finally healthy curls of her girl. “I trust you, baby girl.” 

Hana just smiled, tears coming to her eyes. “Thank you.” 

“Always, baby.” 

Uchiha Kagami, Hatake Sakumo, Maito Dai, and Nohara Gin were outside her door, a fairly new dog the size of a literal bull panting at her feet as she helped Setsuko-oba lift the three trunks onto a seal scroll. The pop of the trunks being displaced with air as they vanish was loud but short, like a cork gun popping. Helping her elderly friend step from the front step to the ground, Akio smiled at her entourage. “Hello and good morning, everyone.” 

Sakumo rolled his eyes as he looked at her, amusement curling his lips. “You couldn’t have told me?” 

Laughing, she shook her head even as the dog she had yet to name got to his feet to follow, Banjo giving a low  _ bork _ , her children curling their fingers in his fur. He was staying behind with strict orders to protect. “Of course not. I don’t get to surprise you often and I have to have  _ some _ fun at your expense, Sakumo.” 

Beside her came two of the pups she was training up, the girls playing as they snapped and yipped. They were strangely colored and she didn’t quite know where they had come from, but the two young bitches were at least a year and exceedingly intelligent, their almost blue-white coats bristling as if static was always running across the ends of their fur. They were incidentally named Static and Shock. No relation to the comic book hero (haha, yeah, no. Definitely… definitely no relation.) 

(She was such a weeb. Help.) 

Setsuko-oba was gently lifted to settle on the bull-sized probably-a-dog, maybe-a-mountain beast, the elder woman sitting side-saddle with grace. Wearing work clothes to preserve what little finery she had, Akio dug her bare toes into the soft earth for a moment before turning to pull all her pups into her arms and kiss them, scent them, pressing her nose into little necks to soft, watery giggles. Then she turned to Keiko, pulling the woman who she loved close, their tiny boys between them as she pressed a kiss to plump lips, then to brow, to cheek, to neck. 

“I love you.” 

Taking a deep, deep breath of Keiko, of Akira and Kakashi and Hanzō, Akio finally stepped away, straightening her shoulders and stepping the first time on the path away from the village and her farm in her life. In this life. 

They traveled quickly once the ninja run was explained to her, the big beast loping slowly by their sides as she learned how to stride before picking up speed. Laughing, Akio spread her arms out for a moment as if flying, actually achieving some lift. A wild grin plastered itself to her face as ideas came to her, eyes going bright. She didn’t see the suddenly concerned glances of the Shinobi with her or hear the low cackle of Setsuko-oba on her unconventional steed. She had plans to formulate. 

Evening rushed up with the missing of the noon meal, barely a thought to her with the abysmal eating habits she truly had. Oh, she could keep a child fed, kept track of things for little ones no problem. It was just that she had a very hard time actually acknowledging her own hunger and would often forget to eat. That was why, when the evening meal came along, she also forgot to eat. Again. 

Sakumo was having none of it. 

“You need to eat.” In his hand was a prepacked meal, one that  _ she _ had made the evening before. She had made a lot of them but Akio was the worst for letting meals sour because she forgot. “At least something.” 

She bit her lip, wavering. She wasn’t… she wasn’t  _ hungry  _ despite expending a lot of energy. She knew she should be but the urge to eat wasn’t there. It was like the hunger signals were flipped off. Too often she would skip meals growing up, especially after working the fields all day. From being too hot. From negligence as she worked on a project. From forgetfulness. Disinterest. 

“I’ll… try.” 

So she took a rice ball, nibbling on the edge. The hunger didn’t come but she did need to eat. It’s not like it would be the first time she forced herself to eat in either life. So she ate. Small. Light. Waited to see if hunger would kick in. Only nausea teased at her throat. 

She didn’t notice shared looks of concern. 


	36. Getting It In Hand, They Have Arrived, No Shame All Game, Heart Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Discord](https://discord.gg/UUmDvMj)

THIRTY SIX 

Morning arose, hunger biting and pinching, clawing at her throat and twisting sour bile against her tongue. Akio ate as if starved, filling in all those empty places she had been too…  _ something _ the day before to fill. Sometimes she just didn’t hunger. Sometimes, like now, she was ravenous for it. She had gotten better with the children in her life. She  _ had. _ But now she was losing all those strides forward. 

She was hyper focusing. 

That could get her killed very fast. 

On the farm, it wasn’t the end of the world. Out here, it could be the difference between the next sunrise and whether she would see it or not. She refused to make it that easy for an enemy. She had to be better. Her children needed her to be better. 

She would be. 

Food and eating disorders aside. 

She only had four more days of Ninja-speed travel before they were at the capital, after all. She could keep to a schedule. She could. Even if she forgot things, she could remember to eat. Somehow. 

“Setsuko-oba?” The older woman hummed as they packed up the extra provisions once breakfast was finished. “Can you remind me to eat at meal times?” 

The older woman stopped folding her sitting cloth, turning to her with a face that slowly pinched in concern. “Akio-chan, why would you need that?” 

She fidgeted, fingers curling into the hem of her work shirt. “I… um, I have an eating disorder. I forget to eat. It’s, it’s not bad when I have the kids, I always think about what they need and just… follow along. But. Uh. I don’t. I don’t really feel hunger unless I’ve missed too many meals and faint. Sometimes I do feel hunger at proper times, but, hm, not. Not often.”

Toes digging into the ground and eyes turned away, she didn’t see the flash of horror across a lined face, nor the startled shock of her escorts. Age gnarled hands cupped her cheeks, pulling her face around so her eyes could meet Setsuko’s. “Akio-chan, why have you never said?” 

She shrugged, her cheeks feeling like suns in the soft, worn hands of her, hmm, friend. “It. Well, until recently, it didn’t matter. I just. Match my meals. To people around me. I know how much to eat, so I have something. I don’t. I don’t  _ starve, _ Oba, but I don’t really hunger all the time. Most of the time.” 

Setsuko-oba sighed and patted her face. “You are a lot of work, young lady. I expect a lot of babies out of you.” 

Akio laughed in surprise, eyes lightening up as she ignored all traditional methods and just hugged Setsuko-oba close. “As many as I can manage!” 

The two laughed about that, warm and happy as the sun gently rose. Her escort, however, looked between themselves, eye contact traded as they made mental notes. They wouldn’t let the little mother down. They had too much riding on her. Like Sakumo. His Alpha needed him and he would provide  _ gladly. _

After the initial mishap, they broke for midday meals and made camp early at night for evening meals. It tacked on another half day of travel, but as they were arriving early as is, that made little difference. Setsuko-oba had sent letters beforehand, the messengers possibly getting there a day or two before them which, in turn, meant she had a week to explore. Which she did. Gleefully. 

“Sakumo, Sakumo,  _ look! _ It’s a panda dog! And a real panda!!” She didn’t squeak or squeal, but it was close. It had been so long since she had seen certain things that, sometimes, she acted her physical age and not her mental one. 

“Kagami! Look,  _ look! _ There are puppies for sale!” 

She, of course, included everyone in her enthusiasm. 

“Nohara-san, Nohara-san! There are  _ kittens! _ I want to pet them all!” 

Everyone. 

“Maito-san, you have a son, don’t you? Look at this! Those are fine seal weights! And they’re pretty!” 

No one escaped her joy. 

“Setsuko-oba! I want this kimono. It’s… it’s so pretty. So gentle looking.” Her eyes traced the curves of the pattern, her hand not touching the glass of the shop window but wanting to. Her friend and elder and current mentor smiled at her back, making a mental note to come back. It wasn’t the most expensive place or the best silk, but the creators were clever and loved their work as was evident of the kimono Akio stared longingly at. 

But before they bought anything, they settled in at the inn, dropping off and unsealing various items until everything they needed to bathe was ready. Setsuko-oba corralled Akio into the fine baths just down the block, the men quick to follow. Sakumo and Kagami were to be refined, visible escorts in finery. Maito Dai and Nohara Gin were there as the visible blades. A smokescreen. 

Oh, they were deadly, make no mistake, but they weren’t the ones to watch out for. While good, they were traveling with  _ the best _ of their colleagues in the field. 

Akio, no shame to be had, quickly shed her layers and went to work on her borrowed stool to wash away the dust and dirt of their travels. Her hair had gotten so long that she had to twist it over her shoulder and wash it last just so she could take her time once her body was clean. Once every last sud was gone, she stood to rinse her hair down her back twice to smooth it out. There was more than one exclamation at this from the other bathers, mostly middle aged women, and Setsuko-oba. 

“Child, your hair!” 

She looked over her shoulder at her friend, blinking water from her thick lashes. “I know. It’s getting too long again.” 

The older woman made a noise. “Child, your hair is too lovely to cut. I did not know it reached your calves!” 

Akio flushed, ducking her head a little. “A-ah…” 

Smartly grabbing a comb, the older woman went at Akio’s hair, the towel around her body keeping the older woman modest. Two others shared a glance before joining Setsuko-oba, marveling over the long strands. Akio blushed at the attention, hands in limbo before she clasped them against her belly. “So, um. How do you want to dress up my hair?” 

Setsuko-oba patted her hip. “We are leaving it free hanging. Turn a few heads with hair this gorgeous. Just look at how thick and soft! You always have it braided back, my dear, you need to let it free sometimes. Like right now.” 

Turning a bit to peer over her shoulder, Akio looked at her older friend. “Setsuko-oba, what are you up to?” 

The old woman cackled. “You’re courting, my dear. It’s time to blow their poor minds so maybe they will  _ make up _ their minds.” Pulling the rose and mint hair oil out of Akio’s bathing basket, the older woman went to work. “By the time I am finished, you will be breaking hearts just by looking at them.” 

Akio laughed and let the older woman have at it. It’s not like it would change anything, now would it. 

Sakumo sat with  _ Uchiha  _ Kagami in the natural hot spring, and wasn’t that strange to think of affiliation now, so they could talk. Could discuss Akio and being a part of her pack. Hatake Alpha Bitches often had many lovers and would often have several children. The largest pack in the annuals had been closing in on sixty, almost thirty of those children due to the Alpha Bitch having multiples several times. He had a very strong feeling this pack would turn out similarly. 

However, while he was completely fine with sharing his friend and lover, he was having trouble thinking of Akio as anything other than Alpha and wanting to hoard her away. It was a catch twenty-two. Yet… he and Keiko could not handle the amount of emotional tormoil their Alpha brought, the depths of her sincerity, generosity, and attachment terrifying. It pushed at them, pulsing with comfort and kindness and that made them hover just out of easy reach, their hands too bathed in blood to make them comfortable touching her. It felt as if they would mar her. 

“You care a lot for that little civilian. I can see why,” muttered his comrade, the Uchiha sinking into the heated waters with a sigh. He was fire and lightning, it made sense that the heat of the near scalding waters would relax him and not cook him instead. “I am, however, having trouble thinking of why one would be willing to share.” 

Sakumo leaned back, elbows on the cool stone. “Alpha is so much. Her emotions are wide and deep like the Naka, slow moving on top yet swiftly dragging one down into the undercurrent. She is a creature of emotional attachment and that is…” He didn’t say what it was but his comrade understood, brows winging up into his hair. “My mate and I need help. We are not enough for her. She is too much for us.” 

His comrade nodded, slow and understanding. If she had any Uchiha in her family line, the emotional depths probably came with it. With hair like hers, it was very likely the ancestor was of more recent lineage than not. “I am going to assume that I will not be the last?” 

Sakumo hummed, a smirk tilting his lips a little. “Not likely. Akio is, for lack of a better word, intense. She is the full glare of the sun in Suna’s summer. It is… discomfiting being the center of that amount of heat, but spread out and dispersed, you may survive it yet.” 

His companion made a noise of understanding, sitting lower in the water until only his nose and eyes were visible with the towel piled up on his head. The two sat, quite literally stewing as the water raised their skin into prunes — if it were not for their chakra. They relaxed with each other, tentative but heartfelt. If this was to work, they had to be aware and comfortable with each other. Akio inspired a lot of trust in and  _ needing to trust _ others. 

They calmly stepped from the water some time later, the giddiness from Akio’s uncultured chakra nearly on the visible spectrum to their enhanced senses. Drying off and getting dressed, the two met with Gin and Dai, the two already dressed and ready even if their hair was damp. Checking each other over and signaling their well being, the four stepped from the men’s side. One and all nearly fell back behind the curtain. 

Akio stood before them, a goddess among women. 

Sakumo whimpered, no one blaming him. For a moment, they realized they may never place the woman’s lineage. They weren’t ready for it. Maybe it was fanciful, maybe it was foolish, but this woman looked like a kami among men and the four would declare her of the gods themselves. 

Whatever the case, if this continued, Sakumo wasn’t sure he’d survive the trip. Hearing his comrades make noises of assent in terrible commiseration to his plight, he figured he wasn’t alone. 

“Well? How do I look?” 

He was gonna die. 


	37. Hello, I’m not dead so have a chapter while I keep chugging along

THIRTY SEVEN 

Akio had been swept up by the oba-sans and soaked while several worked oil through her hair and brushed it until it was gleaming and dry. Setsuko-oba crowed over what Akio could be dressed in with her unique coloring, favoring the deeper reds and heavier blues with a single-minded determination. Then Akio had to open her Big Mouth. 

“Oh, no makeup?” 

Setsuko-oba stared at her, peering at her intensely until she snapped her fingers. A younger woman appeared immediately at her side. “Fetch the brown silk purse, please.” 

The woman scampered, Setsuko-oba looking intently at her face. Akio felt something like  _ Doom _ immediately befall her. Oh no. What had she done… 

Nearly an hour later, Oba finished and stood back, eyes going wide. Akio kind of, uh, wanted to know but she also didn’t want to see the face of a stranger. “Oh, look at you. Akio-chan, you don’t even look real.” 

Twisting the rope she had been handed once her fiddly nature became an issue, she bit the inside of her lower lip so as to not smudge all that hard work. “Is that a good thing?” 

Laughing, Setsuko-oba took Akio’s hands within her own, the thin, aged fingers in stark contrast to the youthful fullness that she still had. “Ah, my sweet girl, you are too humble. Let’s look at you!” 

Someone was brandishing a compact mirror and terror clawed up her throat. She couldn’t see the face of a stranger. She just  _ couldn’t.  _ Face going stiff, she forced a smile that felt like a cardboard cutout pressed against her lips, gently pushing that wavering hand away from her even as she closed the compact and deftly slid it into her sleeve. “No need for that. I trust you.” 

Lifting the hem of her layered Kimono so she could see her feet, she grinned at the barely there crisscrossing of leather and ribbon — her contribution. On the bottom of her feet were leather soles, but otherwise, she was bare. 

It felt like a victory. 

Hair brushed out to her calves in a silken fall, dressed lovingly, painted like some doll, she felt kind of ridiculous. But… Setsuko-oba truly was kind and wanted the best for her. She was old fashioned and set on tradition, but Setsuko could be reasoned with. The care felt comforting, not stifling. Stepping from the baths, heart warm and fluttery, she smiled at the men waiting for them. 

“Well? How do I look?” 

Smiling for a moment, she looked at them. Their stuttered breaths and wide eyes were very flattering, but when they didn’t move for several seconds (an eternity for shinobi) concern grew. “I… I don’t look silly, do I? Setsuko-oba dressed me up.” 

Said woman laid a warm, weathered hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Akio-chan. They’re just being men. Stupid over a pretty girl.” 

Patting her again, the older woman walked away with the rest of the older women, gossiping. Akio followed after hesitating, steps soundless and light as she towered unintentionally over the much shorter women from the baths. She didn’t say anything, though she smiled at the curious stares of the small children when they passed. It didn’t take long for her to get turned around, the capital a labyrinth of streets, and when she stopped to look at the baby bunnies that were otter rex colored, she became terribly lost. Nothing smelled the right way, she knew only her entourage, and now she was getting hungry. She had her money pouch, of course, and two different fans and whatever else Setsuko-oba had given her, but she was definitely out of her element and comfort zone. 

That was alright. She was an adult. 

Smiling at the child that ran up to her demanding upsies while the mother gasped in fright, she quickly returned the child (the, hm, sixth? one so far) and left the rabbit vendor. Oblivious to the stares and the gossiping, she strolled along, unknowingly leaving her Oba-san and Shinobi escort panicking in their own little ways. She was silently panicking, too, but also not because that was the worst thing she could do. Instead, she walked. She familiarized herself with the style of layout, blinking for one long moment when she realized it was a labyrinth, and kept going. There were dead ends, false areas that would double back on themselves, and plenty of crossways. She bet that, from above, it would be like looking at a puzzle book maze. 

Oh. There was a thought. 

Looking for a significantly tall building, she took herself out of the traffic and into the Red Light District, smiling at the men and women who whored themselves out. Almost all of them seemed to be happy to be there, the artificial smiles of most missing as the expressions crinkled their dark eyes and their body posture sang of a relaxed atmosphere. She felt herself grin back, eyes going soft. This is what being happy at your job, especially prostitution, meant. No one rushed her along, most bowing, and she continued to her destination. 

The building was very large, space wise, taking up a whole block and as red as fresh iron paint. It was almost seven stories tall if one included the ornate roof, her eyes taking in the beauty of the paneling she could see with the storm shutters tucked away. While not as violent or prevalent as the storms around Konohagakure, the capital saw a lot of rough weather, so it only made sense. Wandering around the side until she could find a straight shot to the top, she placed her foot to the earthy brown siding and started going up vertically. Her hair hung behind her like a curtain, swaying even as the few hair pieces chimed where they struck against themselves. 

This was what one woman saw as she peered over the railing, a shrill cry leaving her lips out of shock and fright. Akio chuckled to herself, stepping over the jutting ornaments and continuing on. By the time she was at the fifth floor, there was a small crowd below, mostly prostitutes with a few clients. When she reached the roof, she walked under the eaves with barely a switch from vertical to upside down. Her favorite part was pulling the “roll over the edge like a swinging hinge” thing she remembered about a man with very big hair and sparkly tight pants. 

Standing on the deep green glazed tiles, she stared out over the markets and walkways, eyes brightening at the visible path to the Daimyo’s palace. Smiling, she sat and allowed the sun to warm her, eyes closing. Before too long, a shadow fell over her, then another, and two more. 

“Akio.” 

It was said with bridled emotion, the feelings sweeping off of Sakumo that of relief and tired acceptance. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head back, the long column of her neck easily bared among the killers around her. More than one breath caught because they knew she felt what they were and was entirely at ease. Akio didn’t mind. She trusted them. 

“I got lost and I could not find the place we were at — it doesn’t smell or feel enough like one of us.” The group settled at that. “So I found the closest tall building. Either I would find you or you would find me.” 

The four tipped their heads, their acceptance of her apology visible. She felt full with happiness, the joy in her heart spilling over. Taking her hand to lift her to his arms, Sakumo pressed his face into her neck. She didn’t notice him going very still, eyes widening. Kagami, Dai, and Gin definitely did, their eyes wandering over her form for injury. What his hands signed was something else altogether. 

Simply at ease in his arms, Akio allowed him to jump from the roof, enjoying the tingling swoop of her stomach being left behind as they fell to the stones. There was never any fear with her Sakumo. So saying, she drifted into a doze before they even touched the ground. 

Sakumo felt sucker punched. Of all the things he had been through this day alone… well, he was not ready for Akio to be pregnant.  _ There was only one option. _ He, uh, he felt giddy and terrified in ways that anything with Keiko had not and now here he was, carrying the exhausted woman who was his Alpha back to the rooms where Setsuko-san was waiting impatiently. 

They didn’t have a qualified healer with them. Just combat speacialists which, at the time, seemed appropriate but now was woefully inadequate. Sakumo wasn’t used to being understaffed. He was often a team leader, so it made sense to read the general game plan and then expand upon it into the weird that most often happened to Shinobi at the drop of a kunai. He had not anticipated a pregnant woman into it, nor any actual problems with his Alpha. That… would need to be rectified. 

Placing his Alpha on the bed with the massive canine laying between her and the door, he stepped out into the engawa where his fellows stood at attention. Setsuko-san would have to be notified immediately but he was having trouble letting any of her guards leave. Swallowing, he turned to Gin, his long time field partner. He was as quick as his cat summons and allied to the Uchiha - partly why he brought him along. It wouldn’t do to have everyone skewed in Akio’s favor. 

“Find Setsuko-san. Inform her we have found Akio and that there are new…  _ complications  _ to consider.” 

Like him going rabid the moment someone even breathes at her wrong. Kami forbid he lose his senses if so. He had already been on edge - the kidnapping and subsequent not-rescue very much not helping with the first Alpha in decades, but now she was pregnant and not in her own den. Anxiety clawed at his throat, rumbled deep in his chest like boulders falling down cliffs. It was wonderful, amazing news told in what could possibly be one of the worst situations. 

He could only hope that nothing went wrong. 

He didn’t count on it. 


	38. Ahem.

THIRTY EIGHT

Akio awoke to Satsuko-obasan wiping her face down. She hummed, curling onto her side. “Hey, Oba-san. I fell asleep.” 

The older woman smiled at her sweetly, leaning down to press a kiss to her brow. “Mm. The boys have all been so worried. I myself have been a little concerned. Did you know you are pregnant?” 

It took a few seconds for the words to penetrate, her mind hazy. She blinked before sighing once it hit her. “It’s… it’s not supposed to be until I’m twenty-one… I. Really need that scroll. Really  _ really _ badly now.” 

Setsuko-obasan frowned, leaning back. “Did your mother not tell you anything about your bloodline?” 

Sitting up, Akio sighed. “To put it bluntly, I was such an unwelcome surprise that mother made sure she would never have another child as permanently as she could. I don’t know what she did, but she never once quickened with babe again.” 

Watching the elderly face lose all color, Akio smoothed down her wrinkled kimono. It was going to take someone quite a while to fix. “I don’t know how or why, but you understand exactly what I’m talking about. I should have had siblings right on top of each other. Why would you know that?” 

Setsuko-obasan put her damp cloth back into the bowl, clasping her hands. She was silent and Akio waited as patiently as she could. She was so  _ hungry _ . “I… am your cousin. A few times removed, several times truthfully, but that is not what matters. I, too, am of the clan, but I was never blessed with a daughter. All sons. Barely enough to qualify as clan at this point. My father sired me, so there was hope. I never did bring a daughter into the lineage.” The calm receded as she pulled back her teeth in a feral snarl, the elongated canines on display. Actually, several of Oba-san’s teeth looked a lot more dangerous. “And now. To know your  _ mother _ deliberately wished to destroy our line! Withheld information!” 

“Tried to marry me off, of course. I would never have known if they hadn’t died. She didn’t like that I was smart even as she taught me.” 

The older woman had to take a breath. Then another. And another. Her spiritual energy folded out, seeking. Akio gently reciprocated, all warm understanding and tired acceptance of the wrongs her mother had dealt her. No use fighting a dead woman. 

“You’re mother was—“ 

“As kind as she could force herself to be. She loved me, but not in a way that was healthy or kind or generous.” She looked at her, hm, aunt. Reached out for her hand. “I loved her, but not in a way that was generous or everlasting. We had our problems, but I’m still here and as much as it hurt me then, I still love her now. Not as a mother but perhaps as a distant cousin or kind acquaintance.” 

Setsuko-obasan seemed so very sad and Akio could understand a little. She had never had that close of a relationship in either life to a mother who vilified her for little to no reason. She didn’t miss the relationship she had, just the one she could have had. Setsuko-obasan looked so, so heartbroken. So grave. “She did you  _ wrong, _ my kind, precious child. She was cruel.” 

Akio leaned towards her friend and aunt. Her hand pulled her closer until Akio could hug the woman. “Yet, I have found you. I will learn. It is what I am here to do. I will… just have to learn faster. For my sake and the sake of my unborn.” She pressed a kiss to the weathered brow, leaning her head on her… Aunt’s hair. She smiled. “But thank you, Aunt. You’re still my Obasan. I guess I need a guest house for you, too.” 

Akio did  _ not _ panic with Setsuko-obasan started crying. She did  **_not._ **

After cleaning up and changing, laying the wrinkled kimono over the stand, and eating a snack, Akio was ready to go back out. She did not let the four men barring her way stop her. “If you’re so concerned, put on a collar and leash and I will gladly lead you around with me.” 

Every single one of them flushed from hairline to what she could see of the neckline. That was… oh.  _ Oh. _ She hadn’t, uh. No, never mind. She was down for a little (or a lot) of safe, sane, and consensual BDSM shenanigans. Giggling to herself, she adjusted the blue and gray and white of this kimono, great diaphanous clouds with hexagons strategically placed, waves crowding the hem to splash over her knees, and on the back was a silvery white wolf. Sakumo may have gifted this to her for the journey, blushing a deep red at the time. 

At her sides, Static and Shock stood at attention, their backs almost to Akio’s hips. Running one hand through soft, prickling fur, she bit her lip as she looked at Sakumo, glanced over the other three with a less than demure expression. “A little civilian, leading four fearsome men like pets. I bet you all would look good on my leash, mm?” 

Maito Dai might have had to excuse himself for a very long break, Nohara Gin and Uchiha Kagami were tempted to follow. Badly tempted. If she hadn’t wanted to explore a little more, Sakumo was all for disturbing the neighbors at all hours. Setsuko-obasan would just have to get a new room. 

Akio knew what she was doing. Smirking at the remaining three, she swayed out the door with the dogs. It took a few moments for them to reboot before they jumped to her side. She walked, paying attention to the colors and the buildings, noting landmarks. She didn’t see any signs and just shrugged. She was terrible with signs anyway. 

Then she saw a small child peering up at her. She was behind a trash bin, dark eyes wide in her pale face with hair the color of the moody ocean itself. She squared down with knees together and smiled softly at the little girl. “Hello, storm born.” 

Little eyes went wide, mouth open in surprise, maybe? Akio rumbled a small laugh, eyes shining. The child took her hand when she held it out, looking awed. Pressing a little kiss to scraped knuckles, she pulled the small child out. She was maybe three or four and holding the hand of an even younger girl. 

“Ah. And a star. Look at you, little one. The storm born and the star are quite lovely.” 

The twin hounds peered around her, the little girls startling. The toddler girl with the white tumble of knotted curls holding the older girl’s hand hiccuped just before she started to cry. Akio didn’t think before scooping the tiny child up, bouncing her as she shushed the babe. “Oh, Little Star, no. Shush, my dear, it’s alright. They won’t hurt you.” Cradling the toddler, she bummed low and deep, using her chest and making her teeth vibrate. “Sweet baby, shh…” 

Tiny hands grabbed her kimono and without missing a beat, she scooped up the other child, too, the girl shuddering as she was held close. They took so long to relax in her arms, she knew that whatever parental care they were (or, most likely  _ not _ ) getting was not good for them. Something stirred in her ribs, something that she pressed back down with an unwavering patience. This was not the time nor place for such. 

Turning to her escort, she hummed a little bit, the children going soft in her arms. Oh. Music, now that she could do.  _ “Love… is a burning thing… and it makes a fiery ring…” _

Her voice went low, warm in an intimate way. Heads turned. 

_ “And bound… by wild desire… I fell in~to a ring of fire…”  _ She danced gently, rocking the babies.  _ “I fell into a burning ring of fire… I went down down down and the flames went higher…”  _

One little eye peered up at her, confused. She nuzzled the dirty little face.  _ “And it burns burns burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.”  _

Akio took too long to start the next part and a little finger poked her neck. “Why does love burn? Is it really a fire? Why are you singing?” 

Laughing soft and warm, she turned and kissed the little arm. “Love is not something one does lightly, little one. It is something strong and fierce. It can cause one to be so very kind or very, very cruel.” She swayed as she walked, lulling the little ones. “It can burn inside your heart and it can consume you. One must be careful with love, but when you find it, storm born, you should cultivate it. Be careful, always, but don’t turn it away.” 

She hummed a few bars as she looked at the crowd, eyes unknowingly flashing like an iridescent pearl at the crowd from kohl lined eyes that made them seem larger, more than just pale but luminous. The child poked her again and she decided she liked the fire in the girl’s eyes and personality. 

“Still dunno why you singin.” 

She nipped the little arm to shocked giggles. “Because you like it, little one.” 

They fall quiet in her arms, the elder dozing, the younger playing with a strand of hair so opposite her own. The men, all four because Dai finally got it together, trailed like murderous ducklings even as she wandered calmly, aimlessly towards whatever delectable scent was wafting to her through the morass of humanity and spices, animals and mud. The crowd didn’t part so much as move around her like an island in a river. She never noticed that behind them, more and more children came out. The eldest ones scoffed, sharp eyes on her as she crooned words and lurics to the little ones. The youngest wished for the same treatment, whispering like a breeze through golden wheat. 

Before too long, they were standing before a large shop, the curtain flaps rustling with the breeze that rushed through. Akio stepped beneath them, greeting the ship owner with a smile. 

Sakumo was a strong man, a somewhat intelligent, though less so wise man. He saw his Alpha pluck up children and knew that they were going home with them. As discreetly as he could, he made a shadow clone and handed it some coin for the smaller things. It had a replicated stamp for the bigger purchases with it, so he didn’t worry. “You know what to do.” 

Then it was off and he was left with three comrades staring at him in confusion. Right. They didn’t… didn’t yet  _ get it. _ Not his fault they were blind. Or hadn’t read the admittedly thick folder on their employer. Sakumo  _ lived  _ with the woman — he knew better by now. 

Following his Alpha into the eatery she had chosen, he ignored the by play. Let them be idiots a little longer. 

Akio was delighted by the children in her lap, helping them use chopsticks and wiping messy mouths. A week away from her children and she was adopting more to compensate. She didn’t mind, though. Umeko, the ocean haired toddler, and Tsume, the darker skinned, white-haired toddler, both had warmed up to her and it felt so good to hold tiny bodies in her arms. Tsume couldn’t truly talk, but Umeko in her rough dialect more than made up for it. By the time they were finished, she had eaten more than intended and the children were whining over distended bellies. 

She hummed to them, carrying them with her as she started back for the room. It was unsettling to lay down and not have her children, paranoia and fear curling up her spine the longer she was away. On the move, it hadn’t been so bad. Now, however, she had time to dwell. Not to mention! She was  _ pregnant. _ Her bloodline was supposed to keep that from happening until at least twenty-one! Had her mother lied about that? She didn’t want to think she had, but that was entirely possible and very plausible. 

A warm hand against her hip, sliding along the layers she wore to settle in the dip of her spine had her looking over to Sakumo. He was close, all warm lines and soft understanding. Akio had confessed to him and Keiko of her fears after being kidnapped and, before that, having her fawn taken and the trauma that left her shaking sometimes because she had almost lost the most precious part of herself - the children. Either from her or her from  _ them, _ protecting them. She knew she was the only line of defense between Chihiro, Himiki, and Hanzō and the Hyuuga branding them like dumb beasts. 

It kept her up at night, sometimes. 

“What sad thoughts,” is murmured into her hair, lips teasing the shell of her ear. Sakumo leaned into her, a heat that made her relax almost reflexively. “What can I do?” 

She turned into him, inhaling deeply. This was why she asked for him. She was still… not delicate, but unsettled. Sakumo was a grounding force in her life along with Keiko and the children. They reminded her this wasn’t an elaborate dream but her life now. It motivated her where little else had. 

“Be with me. I need you.” 

He settled against her side and back, a furnace in the sudden cold that was all mental, emotional. It hit her, sometimes, how unhealthy it was to depend so much on someone to be there for her. She wasn’t sure how she would take it if he were to die. She didn’t think she would survive it, if she were honest with herself. The same could be said of Keiko. Tears pricking at her eyes, all hot static, she pressed her face into his neck to inhale his scent. 

With sleepy children in her arms and nose full of his ozone and earthy musk, she could almost pretend she was home with her house full of children and her pups and the dogs who whined for scratches and played with the littlest ones to keep them out of trouble. It wasn’t even that long and already she missed her home. She  _ missed _ them all  _ so much. _

Screw waiting around. She had babies to dote on and a least one little one on the way. She needed that scroll and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. 

Time to get things done. 

  
  



	39. Grand Larceny or Reclamation of Property?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one gets a little serious, but that’s much later. 
> 
> For those who are sensitive of it, just be cautious of pregnancy issues as it is spoken of in vague terms at the end. Nothing will come of it — I’d be hunted down for it if I did (and cry bc I can’t) — but the warning and threat of it exists.

THIRTY NINE 

Ironically, sneaking around a palace was easier to do than one would think. Okay, so she had cheated when she had scaled the outer wall, but one would also think the sanctioned nin of the Daimyo would have caught her by now. Especially if she was doing this in broad daylight. Because she so was. The little girls were with Oba-san, fed and clean and clothed, the dogs were keeping out of the room and roaming around, and her guards were currently either silently scolding her or laughing their asses off. 

One wouldn’t think she’d really do this alone, would they? 

Dressed comfortable in a shorter kimono with hakama, hair in a high tail with the shorter strands curling around her neck and face, and barefoot once more, she peered into a window that looked to lead to a disused room, the layers of dust enough to dissuade her going in. Oh, she  _ was _ using this window, but ugh.  _ Ugh.  _ Adjusting her stance, she opened the window with a flick of her fingers. “I hate dust.” 

Then she was in the room itself, having slipped through the window with ease since it was quite frankly a massive weak point. Staring at the floor, she grimaced at the feel of gritty dust particles grinding into her feet. Gross. Maybe she should have worn shoes? 

… 

**_Nah._ **

Lightly stepping on the balls of her feet, she glided across the room, the disused furniture covered in sheets and trunks of a lifetime left forgotten spilled around her. Curious, she opened one trunk and held back a gasp even as she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve. It was a trunk of beautiful clothing, deep earthy colors and jewel tones in a style from a long ago era. Looking at the dust, she tapped her chin. She was already set to relieve the Daimyo of her family scroll, what were a few outdated clothes trunks in the grand scheme of things? Honestly, she figured, no one would even notice. 

Tapping the trunk lid once she closed it back up, she turned big eyes on her guards. Sakumo was pinching the bridge of his nose because he had zero self restraint when it came to his Alpha and would go with whatever she said. Dai and Gin might be immune, but she hoped the pouty lip at the stoic Uchiha uncle would get him on her side. Her performance did spark some…  _ intense _ self negotiation within Kagami. 

“Please?” 

And, oops, there were suddenly twelve trunks of clothes in a sealing scroll, would you look at that. Giving a shy smile, she led them out of the dusty abandoned room into… another dusty and abandoned room. In fact, with her looking out that door, the entire wing seemed dusty and abandoned. Like the whole of it was cordoned off. Strange. Shrugging, Akio went about pillaging the rooms, grabbing whatever struck her fancy because what was a little grand larceny from the ruler of her country, hm? 

One room was full of jewelry and she wrinkled her nose. It was all so… gaudy. Too much. How atrocious. Wrinkling her nose at the literal collar of gemstones and diamonds that must cover from the top of the breastbone to just under the jawline, she tried to imagine who would even wear such an atrocity. It was pretty, make no mistake, but also just. Too much. Ugh. 

“I cannot believe you’re leaving the jewels.” 

Looking over her shoulder at Noharu Gin, she shrugged. “They’re awful. Beautiful, sure, but they’re not really… practical or that endearing.” Stepping over to a stand that had literal collars on mannequin necks, she lifted a silk choker with a single pearl that shone against the black. “This is far more lovely than anything else.” 

Deft fingers opened the catch and she held it to her throat, not closing it but showing how simplicity was far more interesting than the literal body weight in jewels most of the treasures were. “I cannot only put this with a wider variety of items, it’s simplicity allows a certain allure that is lost among the glittering finery.” She gently returned it with a small smile. “This one was well loved and well worn, the ribbon has been replaced at least once if not more. It’s sad to see such a beloved item left to rot.” 

Rubbing a finger across the pearl, she clasped it to the mannequin before letting her hand trail to a golden choker with teardrop diamonds hanging. If worn, the diamonds would definitely be within the cleavage of the wearer. Then she picked up a set of collars, their supple leather adorned with metal plates of various colors and a single gem set in the middle between the legs of a collar ring. Her fingers skimmed the inside of the thin bands, stilling when she saw something very… telling. 

It was a circle with a white four point star topped by a black four point star, a second perfect circle of white in the middle. It was highly simplified, of course, at this size, but that… that was  _ her clan symbol. _ Welp. She was taking these. Doubling back to the original, she looked at the back and, sure enough, there was her symbol again. The entire row of mannequins held heirlooms of her clan. She felt her heart race a little, taking deep breaths because, oh boy, she had some connections that would get her killed pretty fast. 

Checking around, she saw a few smaller boxes with clan symbols, but five of the innumerable small boxes were definitely of her clan. Another fifteen the size and approximate weight of Maito Dai stood sentinel around the room edges. She set them aside as well. Nothing else stood out and she gently flicked a hand when it went to the diamond studded chin to bust collar. “Leave it. It’s ugly.” 

Sighing, Gin did so as she swept from the room and into the next. Oh. Exactly what she wanted. “Now this is more like it.” Without a moment’s notice, she started looking for the correct symbol, smiling when the ends were capped with the clan crests in such a nice way. Oh, this made her job so much easier. Hers, hers, hers—oh, Uchiha, hers, hers, Hyuuga, hers. 

Akio just started grabbing the ones she recognized, settling them in a pile. Someone had a literal treasure trove of information and had just… forgotten about it. Or ignored it which, honestly, was a terrible decision. Humming as she halved the contents of the first series of cubbies holding scrolls, she continued her fleecing with a smile. 

It was only right that they went to who they belonged to, was it not? 

She was conducting a service! 

No one commented on her evil witch laugh. 

Two hours later, Akio had sealed a good portion of the wing into her escorts’ scrolls and was happy to leave. Mostly. Her curiosity had her snooping to the main hallway, peeking through half rotted panels to see a deserted hallway that was slowly being refurbished. Slowly. Very slowly. She pushed the sliding door open just enough to truly see and was less than impressed. Turning to Sakumo, she tilted her head. 

“Can we check out the rest of the palace or would that be a bad idea?” 

The look of pained contemplation on his face was more than answer enough and she left her curiosity until later. She would be coming back in a week to talk to the ass. Not her fault his citizens were kidnapping, raping, and selling people. She didn’t truly remember it, but she sure as hell didn’t regret her takedown of the organization. 

“Alright! Let’s go back then. Quickly, please?” 

Sakumo lifted her up and moved with speed the way they came from, the dust scattering everywhere but where Akio had stepped. The dust stubbornly refused to do what the remaining nin wanted. But when Kagami used a low level wind technique, they got a surprise. 

Her footsteps… were gold. 

Akio gleefully crowed as they went sailing over rooftops, happy to soar. Then she wasn’t. “Down! D-down, now!” 

The white haired man got her into an alley where Akio proceeded to be sick. Ugh. Whimpering because it had been decades since she last threw up, she spit and dribbled the acid from her stomach down her chin. Her eyes welled up with tears and she hated it. A canteen was shoved under her nose and she took it greedily to wash her mouth and swill out the taste. Welp. That happened. 

Taking deep breaths, trying to get control of her stomach, she allowed Sakumo to wipe her face. She had probably ruined her hakama. Oh no. Setsuko-oba was going to be so upset with her. 

“I’m sorry.” She let him move her around the puddle of sick, breathing slow and calm. “I was not expecting that this early.” 

Sakumo made a sound, pulling her close. “It was not your fault. In fact, you may be further along with your pregnancy than we thought.” Cuddling her tighter to his side, she pressed her nose into his neck. What she wouldn’t give for a mint. “I didn’t notice for… whatever reason.” 

Akio knew his pride had taken a hit when he hadn’t noticed the moment she became so. She had a theory about that. A very… well, undetermined theory. One she kind of didn’t want to prove. 

“I’m hungry now. Which is stupid, I guess, but I want something with  _ jalapeños _ and  _ tomatillos  _ or whatever the equivalent is.” 

She ended up with curry, four men surrounding her like sentinels as she stuffed her face. She was starving for no apparent reason, especially after throwing up! 

Just. Ugh. 

**_Hormones._ **

Hormones that had her bursting into tears the moment Setsuko opened the door. The older woman quickly wrapped her arms around Akio, hands almost hot on her cool face. Akio had always,  _ always _ run hot and now she was shivering to pieces without any rhyme or reason. If this was because she was pregnant, she was already  _ done _ with this whole thing and wanted nothing else to do with it. What she really wanted was a snuggle burrito with Keiko and Sakumo, but that wasn’t happening. 

And she wanted more food. 

“I want to go home!” she ended up wailing, Setsuko-oba patting her back and rocking her gently side to side. “And I’m so  _ hungry, _ I just want to, to eat  _ everything…”  _

Over her head and out of her sight, Setsuko-oba glared at the men behind her, shooing them off as she pulled Akio into the room and to the small table. Plied with snacks of edemame, some left over onigiri, and tsukemono, she ate and ate and  _ ate. _ Sakumo came back with arms laden, Kagami behind him, Dai behind  _ him,  _ and _ Gin  _ behind _ him.  _ She ate it all. Hunger ate at her and it left a sour bile of overwhelming hunger in her throat. 

“Oh no.” Setsuko-oba pet at her hair, looking at the ninja in the door. “I know, usually chakra pills are very, very bad for pregnant women, but if anyone has some? We are going to need them. Immediately.” 

Sakumo nearly fumbled the small packet of the marble-like objects, the red coating tasting like iron and pennies as one was forced into her mouth. She bit down on instinct, energy flooding her and her belly calming as the artificial chakra filled in those aching places she hadn’t been aware of. 

What the  _ fuck. _

“S-Setsuko-oba?” Her voice was a croak and Akio felt so drained, the suddenness like an artificial high from sugar going straight to a crash. Old, warm hands held one of her own. 

“What I am about to say is clan based,” she started, Setsuko-oba stern and sharp. “So if I hear about it, I will ruin you. Am I made clear?” 

The men all nodded, Sakumo coming to kneel and grasp her free hand. Chakra fed from him into her as his hands glowed green, Akio turning her head and lifting his hands to kiss his knuckles. He leaned in, a low whine in his throat as the one running this show softened her expression. 

“Good. Our clan,” she indicated herself and Akio, “are breeders. We have a strict timeline for what can and cannot happen to us due to our biology. We are, for lack of a better word, late bloomers. Twenties rather than teens. This is because our chakra needs to grow enough to sustain our progeny. Akio is eighteen.” The air seemed to leave the room as implications were made. Big, terrifying implications. “I am not of the main line, I do not have as strict of a need to adhere to these guidelines.” 

Left unsaid was that Akio  _ was  _ of the main line. When she insisted it was early, too early, the merit behind it was suddenly much more necessary. Much more complicated. Much more dangerous. Childbirth and pregnancy was still extremely dangerous and to know that the young Alpha was in a place of extreme endangerment? Was chilling. 

What else could they do? 

Akio, never one to back down from her own health issues, bared her teeth. “Let’s see about getting an audience that much quicker, mm? Until then, we have scrolls to go through.” Looking at Sakumo, giving him a warm smile, she kissed his hands again. “Just so you know, I do not regret it. No quit moping and get to work! Times a wastin’!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I tumblr Akio? Asking for a friend. XD


	40. Gussied Up, Surprise, It Is Family, Rushing Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Update on my front: I’m losing my mind over my wedding which is in about a month and a half out but since everyone has been having trouble keeping work, I haven’t finished paying for my venue. It’s stressing me the FUCK OUT. 
> 
> On another note, I now have a (very short) playlist that keeps me writing bc it de stresses me so much. Of course, the manic depressive episode isn’t helping. Yay. I despise being human sometimes. I wanna be a dog.

CHAPTER FORTY 

Well, she still had to wait a week and during all that time she did nothing but eat, cuddle soft toddlers, and _read._ So. Slowly. As someone who used to be able to read a thousand page, size twelve type book in ten hours or less, this felt like insult after injury after horrible, horrible insult. Setsuko-oba and Sakumo helped, even when she had to sit him down to explain just why she didn’t mind, of course not, _you're the father of my baby, shut up and help me._

Clan politics. What a nuisance. And yet… she was more than willing to use it to her advantage. Yay for double standards. 

But now… Now was the day. 

Setsuko-oba stood before her at the first crack of false dawn, gummy eyes having trouble focusing on the smaller woman as the day of the meeting rolled into being. Slowly. In her hands were boxes of clothing, accessories, makeup, and a sack of food that smelled like heaven. Akio almost forgave her for waking her up before the sun. 

“Why.” 

Setsuko-oba cackled, patting her cheek. “We have so much to do! Don’t worry, your men are doing as they’re told.” 

Akio grumbled as she allowed her oba-san to start working on her. It was four hours of continuous pampering and tugging and tucking. A good chunk of time was spent on just her hair, the ends being trimmed and the hair around her face looped into braids. She grumbled but ate her delicious hot steamed buns full of bean paste and peaches—not in the same bun, of course—and did as she was told. 

After a while, a mirror was brought out and when she looked without thought, Akio froze. That wasn’t her. There was no way this was _her._ Her face was someone she had never seen, not looking like her father nor her mother. She didn’t know who she took after, but if she had to put a face claim to her own _face,_ it would be Ming Xi, though darker in tone. She looked like something out of a game or a martial arts film. Who was this person who looked back at her? With her eyes lined in kohl, her eyelids striped with vibrant red and tipped in gold powder, and lips over full and red, she was staring at a creature from myths and legends. When her hand came up, it startled her to see the being in the glass do the same. 

Tears pricked at her eyes. She looked nothing like she knew herself. 

Warm hands settled on her shoulders and she turned to see Sakumo looking at her through the mirror. He was awestruck. She felt a little sick because this wasn’t her and if he ever saw what she used to be, he definitely would not _want_ what she had been. 

It turned unpleasantly in her belly even as she allowed him to ground her into the now. She missed herself, but it was too late for that. Maybe this was her punishment for working so hard to love herself that she became too selfish. Maybe this was for only giving her love to a select few people, mostly children, and pulling away from the demands of her parents and the family until she was independent. Who knew, but she at the very least wanted her hair back. 

“What a sad face.” Sakumo leaned against her just barely enough to feel, his chin on her shoulder as his arms cane around her. “You look like you lost everything.” 

Akio debated what she was going to say, how to put into words that this face and this body didn’t feel like her own despite eighteen years put into living with it. She didn’t understand it herself, how she felt so alien to everything here. How she had lost parts of herself. How she had to build herself up again and again every time she realized she was showing the wrong face, was an impure creature within the body of a pure babe. 

“I miss _my_ face. The one I used to see.” There, that was vague enough. Maybe he would drop it. 

Maybe he wasn’t going to. 

“It doesn’t look that different, Akio. I promise.” 

She gave him a wistful smile. A sad tug of lips that she missed seeing on herself as she turned to him. “You don’t understand, but that’s okay. I don’t believe I’ll ever see what I once was ever again. It’s just a… a silly idea. A forgotten memory.” 

Hurrying from in front of every painful reminder that every hardship she had endured and overcome was for naught and every childish wish to have black, _straight_ hair fulfilled, she looked at her entourage. Static and Shock were sleek and well brushed, groomed within an inch of their fur and Colossus (she had finally named the poor baby) was “saddled” for her use. Setsuko-oba was to stay with the children and Gin, packing away what they didn’t need as of yet. Kissing the children, her oba-san, and lastly Gin in absent affection, she allowed herself to be steered from the room and into the foot traffic. Hot hands lifted her around her waist and onto the back of her companion, her thoughts foggy with “forgotten” heartache. 

She blinked and the palace was before them. Oh. She had. She had drifted. Disassociated. It had been years since she had done that. 

“Akio?” Hot hands laid on her legs, the heat vibrant even through her layers. She was so _cold._ “Akio, what’s wrong?” 

Leaning down so her own hand could slide over his, she took a stuttering breath. “I don’t know.” And she didn’t. She didn’t know. The depression was there, the heartache and anger and pithy, petty words that wanted to bubble up and out of her throat, but she felt numb. So far removed from all of it. Sucking in a deep breath, she forged onwards because that was what she had always done. Forged onwards. “Let’s get this over with and home. I want my babies.” 

The climb was quick with her on Colossus, her escort bounding up the stairs bit by bit until they were at the doors. Kagami spoke with the man who stopped them, nodding his head to her at one point. They were allowed through, the doors open to the room beyond to allow the breeze of the day. The room itself was filled with courtiers, ladies like bright blooms of color and the men stoic fountains and mountains. There were a few small children, generally those learning the trade at the hands of their parents. The Geiko and Maiko were demure flowers that nearly glowed in the darker room. Akio felt like a wooden doll in a room of porcelain and glass figurines. 

“Ah.” The sound was small but still carried with the way the acoustics were set up. She thought so. So she waited as they moved forward. The level of noise declined as the delicate men and women noticed her, more than one mouth hanging open. At the line of guards, Colossus stopped. She didn’t dismount, clutching his harness tightly. 

“Alpha?” 

She took a breath but the feeling in her chest, under her breast, did not go away. “Something is _wrong._ I can feel it.” 

He gripped her calf, her ankle, her sitting side-saddle allowing him to be mildly improper. “What is it?” 

She shook her head, sliding into his arms. They needed to be done with this mess. She had every sensible thought of it being one of her pups, but why? Was it Obito again? If so, the head of the Uchiha might end up losing his own head. It shouldn’t be Hana. While of a shy, nervous disposition, she was starting to step out of her shell and into a roll of command. Akira? Kakashi? Chihiro—! 

Her breath caught for a moment, her legs like water. Sakumo held her tightly, his arms around her shoulders and hips. 

“As… _amusing_ as this display is,” began a voice, her gray opal eyes snapping to it. “My Lord has more important things to do than pander to a murderer.” 

Something in Akio snarled from even deeper than the numbness, something that bubbles up her in her belly and through her ribs until it lodged like burning in her throat. Standing steady and pushing Sakumo aside, she stalked forward, Colossus, Static, and Shock close at her heels. She was angry. She was tired and wanted to be home. She _needed_ to be home. Her _son_ needed her. 

“Cute accusation seeing as all I did was remove a human trafficking ring that had its hands in the peddling of children for the pleasure of ones needs.” Her lips peeled back at the shocked gasp. “I have many issues with being kidnapped myself, of course, but children are sacred. Why would I allow the beasts who would touch a babe in such a manner continue to do so?” 

The man seemed to pale before going red. “You ruthlessly murdered nobles! Destroyed families! Took from them their income!” 

Akio smiled, all teeth and rage. She didn’t have time for this. “Ah. Nobility. Using us commoners to fluff their coffers. How cute.” 

“YOU WILL SHOW—“ 

“Nothing. I will never show deference or respect to someone who allows a beast like that into their court. I am here for my clan scrolls, not some foolish matter that was over the moment it was discovered that someone was using fellow humans as a source of income.” Akio was in the face of the man now, taller than him by just enough to notice. She bared her teeth in a not-smile. “I am Alpha Bitch of Pack Hamada, Alpha of the Hatakes, and last true blood of the Ootsu—“ 

“Please.” It is a demand. Being cut off infuriated Akio because she had a point to make and a child to get back to and they were fucking around! “I have heard enough.” 

She opened her mouth, teeth too large for her jaw as she bared them when a gentle hand was settled over her lips. She let her eyes turn to Sakumo with a bitter upset. He nodded to the front, her eyes soon tracking a man in rich clothing stepping closer, feet slow and heavy. 

He’s… handsome? At least he’s not unpalatable, though he looks a bit like Bruce Lee with his jaw, only with long hair tied in a knot. He’s a stark contrast to Sakumo who is a genuine Pretty Boy, or Kagami who looks like _he_ should be the one ruling the Land of Fire. Dai was bigger in breadth than all the others, and more rugged. He was handsome but in a “I fight my breakfast, lunch, and dinner” kind of way with the scars over his hands and arms. It’s a comparison she never thought she would make because she had doubted she would see the ruler of Fire Country. 

“Hello, cousin.” 

Akio felt her jaw loosen before she nipped at the fingers of her mate. He jerked his hand back even as she stepped forward. “Cousin. I need the clan scroll.” She deliberated before shrugging. “Please.” 

The man hummed, tilting his head. He eyed her, taking in a deep breath. His exhale was accompanied by wide eyes, his entire body going rigid. “You carry?” 

Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms. “The reason I need the scrolls.” 

He seemed to hesitate before nodding his head in the closest thing to a bow a man of his status would give. A bow that Akio replicated. “Right this way.” 

“M-my Lord!” 

“Silence, Mugiwara-san. Hamada-san and I will be… catching up.” 

Akio didn’t waste time trying to understand what was going on, she just slipped from the uncomfortable slippers and darted up to the Daimyo's side. “I don’t have long.” 

“An emergency?” he asked quietly, the two moving quicker than before. She bit her lip, wondering how much to tell him. 

“I don’t know. But. I believe so.” 

Once out of sight, he started moving in a slow lope, one Akio could easily out do but had him huffing and puffing in a few minutes. He was trained but it wasn’t much nor often. Desk work and audiences cut into his time too much. 

“T-tell me, cousin. How goes the c-clan?” 

Keeping pace, she shook her head. “I am it.” 

The Daimyo stumbled, almost tripping. “What!” He stopped, chest almost heaving. “That! You have b-brothers!” 

Akio shrugged. “If they still live. Now come on. I don’t have much time.” 

Hesitating for a bare second, he took off again, leading to a library that took up three twelve foot tall floors. She gasped all of a moment, eyes wide. Ugh, she wanted to read it all. 

Instead, she followed her surprise family member to a desk that was bolted to the floor with steel and seal—both expensive items but a paltry sum to someone like the Daimyo. A bit of blood and wild chakra application had a drawer releasing. From it was a scroll the length of her arm and almost as thick as her biceps. He handed it over with reverence that she wished she could show, but the fear in her breast was gaining weight as her baby needed her. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. 

“Thank you. I have to go.” Turning on her heel, she moved much faster on the way back, ignoring the shouting of the figure behind and the audience hall once returned, gasping breath for a whistle. Colossus bounded close, kneeling as she got closer, her legs going astride as her kimono layers shifted. Dark sun-touched skin was easily visible to the gasps of the crowds, her hands clenching in fur. “To home. Now. Someone is hurting my pup.” 

Not needing to be told twice, the massive dog ran, her entourage keeping step. Dai left her side to inform the rest of their party and to escort them back with Gin. Sakumo and Kagami kept pace with Colossus, Static and Shock just behind him as they sailed over long steps and over walls until they were able to run flat out towards Konoha. 

Maybe, at some later time, Akio could talk to the Daimyo, her unexpected cousin however many times removed. Maybe they could be friends. Right then, nothing mattered more than getting back. Chihiro needed her and she was done being led by the nose. 

The guards were in shambles, the Daimyo staring at where the actual Alpha Bitch had gone with bemusement but also intense interest. 

“Mi’lord,” asked a retainer, the man a hefty creature swathed in silks and fur. He wasn’t a bad man, just a self-centered one. “What have we just witnessed?” 

“Treason, me thinks,” crooned a tall thin man, a stalk of grass next to the boulder of a man. He giggled to himself, definitely of a different stripe. He was a cruel beast, one who not even fortune seekers would wed. “Perhaps we can ask our allies to deal with her? Wash our hands of it.” 

The Daimyo shook his head, finger tapping on the top of his desk. “I think not,” he stated, calm and serious. “It would not do the murder one of the most prestigious of clan members. A Daughter of the Sage is rare enough without such foolishness.” 

The room stopped moving. “But, mi’lord, _you_ are a _Son_ of the Sage! There are not others except your heirs!” 

The Daimyo smirked, the first time in a long while he had reason to do so. “And yet, Hamada Akio has purer blood than even I.” One could hear a pin drop. “Ah. Well, hopefully we will meet under less dire circumstances.” 

“Dire… circumstances?” 

Turning to the men at his beck and call, he spread his arms. “Oh yes. Nothing riles an Alpha like going after a child. We shall hear about the bloodbath soon enough.” 

The room shivered as foreboding curled down their spines. Just what was their mighty Daimyo implying? 


	41. Relentless, Wreckage and Self Ruin, Good Luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been... very busy. I’m exhausted. Doing the job of 3-4 people for $8 an hour is not working for me. I’m not even making $1000 a month - more like $800. I’m broke. This is not sustainable. I will probably be having longer and longer times between updates to try and job hunt. (Shoulda went unemployment when that was an option. At least I would be eating actual food most of the time.) In other news, I hate ramen noodles now.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE 

Time meant nothing as the beasts that she ran with, that she partnered to, hunted. Something deep and primal within them thrummed with a happy sound, something that vibrated down to her bones. The sun rose and it set, just once, as they cleared the distance in unthinkable strides, her seconds having trouble keeping up as they left the capitol behind. The red looming walls of the not-den of Konohagakure rose like a beacon between the trees, the cliff that offset it to the side. 

She curled her hands through fur, pricks of pain almost startling as her too long, too sharp nails scraped her palms. She bit back a snarl, frustrated because she so seldom allowed that to happen. Even in the depths of passionate sex she had control! Yet, now, it took but one child being in danger for her claws to come out. Literally in this case. 

Holding tight to her steed, they bounded over the tall red wall, up and up and over. The sentries called out, one she even recognized. 

“Hamada-San!” 

She huffed at her not-name, urging Colossus faster. The tug and press inside her breast was harder to ignore as someone pressed harder against her. Her pup was being tortured. He may not know how deep it went or truly feel it, but even blocking as much of it as she was, she knew he had to feel something, know something was wrong. She snapped her teeth together to keep a tight grip on her smoldering inferno called rage. 

Then the place he was being held came into view and her wrath near exploded, held back with spider silk string and the knowledge that if she lost her temper here, it would be for the worse. Over the wall they sailed in one great leap, her clothing flaring like snapping wings around her legs where the kimono layers were splayed wide as she sat astride Colossus, her hair flying like a flag, her baring her teeth that felt too big for such a human mouth. No one stopped her. Maybe they didn’t dare to or couldn’t think of how to do so without sending Hatake into a berserk rage but every step was open to her. 

She barely noticed when people started to yell or shriek in startled fear, her hands in the fur of her mount urging him over the pale wall and into the gardens, her body flying from his back so she could hit the ground running. It had rained recently and the earth gave way beneath her bare feet, her toe claws digging into the softened ground and churning it up with each slapping step she took. Maids and clansmen jerked from her path, some giving incoherent shouts as she passed them like a living storm. Her body slammed through more than one screen to an inner room inside the white, white,  _ white _ of this soulless den, the assembly of elders she finally stopped in turning almost as one to her destructive rampage. She didn’t give them a second glance, eyes only for her boy. 

Her pup was bound to a chair with tears tracks on his face and pale eyes bared to the world. An old man stood over him, hand glowing as it pressed a sealing brush to his bare temple. His skin around the area was smeared with ink as was the man, failed attempts that were going to stop. Right. Now. 

“Don’t  _ touch _ my pup.” 

The room, those who hadn’t turned when she broke it down bit by bit, glanced towards her. The oldest of the men scoffed, turning back to  _ her son. _ “He is Hyuuga. He will be Branch as was his father and he will be here… not with beasts.” 

Akio felt a sound leave her that was  _ not _ human. “That is where you are wrong.” 

The man tutted and applied the brush. Akio has never felt more hate for a writing instrument than at that moment and the absolute wrath that filled her nearly exploded from her body. The man and every single adult in the room hit the floor in an explosion of something that resembled KI but was infinitely worse. She didn’t want to kill them. She wanted them to  _ suffer. _

“I will be taking my son now,” she stated, sweet as syrup and lying kindness. Stepping over the man prone on the floor without a care, she grasped the ropes pinning her baby down. They were painful. Like holding onto an electric fence. It wasn’t too bad, however, and she allowed her nails that were too long and too sharp to slide over them until the strands gave away. Chihiro sobbed, falling into her arms limp with relief and limbs shaking with exhaustion. 

“Oh, baby,” she crooned, hitching him up and crooning softly to him. “My precious pup, what did they do to you?” 

Packing her son up, she left the room at a steady gait, in no hurry to cause Chihiro pain nor allow the old bastards a reprieve. He held to her as tightly as he could, which wasn’t much, almost as weak as a kitten. “Did they get the littles?” It was asked quietly, his head shaking in the negative. A breath left her, her body starting to succumb to weariness and exhaustion itself even as relief made her knees weak. “Good. I would have killed them and then it would have been a right mess.” 

Stepping from the wreckage of her rampage, Akio stepped up to Colossus to put her son on his back. The beast was good natured with it, panting as he licked his chops. Static and Shock bounced around them, sparks of electricity racing through their fur and teeth. Smiling as she pressed a hand through Static’s fur atop her head, Akio mounted her good boy with a bit of a struggle. She was, just… so tired, suddenly. Colossus stood with them easily astride his shoulders, trotting to the edge of the wall. He bounded over, her hands around her boy and holding thick clumps of fur. Behind her, chaos started to swirl through the ranks of the Hyuuga. 

Sakumo had never been a slow man. He was a runner and built a reputation of being as fast as the lightning that sparked off his hands and blade. Whatever breeding stock those monsters Akio stated to be  _ dogs _ was beyond comprehension as he was left trying to, and  _ failing to,  _ catch up. Kagami was little better, flickering and failing to keep pace with him, but doing an admiral job. They stopped just long enough to eat a ration bar and sip from a canteen before starting back up. 

Akio had left them behind the night before, going straight through. They had kept sight, then  _ he _ had kept sight, but now, as midday started to press the horizon, they were truly without visual. The walls of Konohagakure were just starting to be visible, relief stark in his ribs rattling around as he saw Colossus moving slowly. The dark spot of color that was Akio sliding sideways was not. 

He lunged. He knew he wouldn’t be fast enough, wouldn’t be enough for his Alpha, but he would die before he stopped trying. He ran, he ran so fast it hurt, but even as he got closer at a speed he had never before had, he was too late. Fortunately, for all that they were technically off duty, two ANBU were there to catch her. Cradled only strong arms, Sakumo got to see her face, white as a sheet as her oldest boy clung to her waist. 

Chakra exhaustion. 

Fear gripped him, his attention so fully on Akio he didn’t hear the commotion from beyond the village walls. His hands shook as he drew out a pill, the artificial stimulant the only thing he had to try and fight this ailment with. She took it after a moment when he held it to her lips, crunching through the shell to the chakra packed minerals. It took a second for color to start reappearing, her breathing smoothing out to an actual resting cadence. Not bothering to try and disengage Chihiro, Sakumo took her from Turtle and made a beeline towards the homestead. 

That left Colossus and Kagami to handle the mess she had left behind, but with good reason. Static and Shock pranced around the two older males, barely winded by the run and happy enough to harass the gate guards. Colossus turned to the Uchiha, still panting. 

“Alpha has rushed the dragons’ den. The blind dragons have forgotten what they should hoard and decided that going after a claimed hatchling was worth the risk,” the massive beast rumbled for the first time in too long. His voice was deep, thunderous, on the lower edges of the human register. Kagami honestly startled from the voice, looking to his companion in shock. Colossus barked a laugh. “Do not look so shocked, tengu. One does not wander into the den of any Alpha Bitch and take what they want without consequence. Even away from her den, Alpha knew.” 

Kagami adjusted his stance on just how powerful Akio was. Most animals didn’t just  _ speak. _ They had to have a connection to a human or sage chakra—the Inuzuka were anomalous among the villages since even the Uchiha who had a strong tie to felines didn’t have talking cats and the Crows and Ravens were a special breed of unusual. A beast this large and strong seeking out a human when they were probably of sage descent was, well,  _ unheard of. _

_ Akio _ was unheard of. 

… 

It fit. 

“How bad?” 

The canine chuffed with humorous tones, licking his maw in one long draw, showing off his teeth. “She went right over the wall and bashed down the walls. I didn’t see what happened next, but I heard it. Let’s just say—Hyūga have forgotten how dangerous they are not. One cannot apply the same seal to two independent chakra sources.” 

Kagami felt his blood freeze. Akio was not a fan of the Hyūga, never claimed to have even genial dislike. In fact, she was a silent, dangerous advocate for keeping the children as far from them as possible. That they would be bold enough ( stupid enough ) to not only take the eldest of her children but then try and brand him spoke little on their cognitive prowess. Or it spoke more of their utter disregard of the woman who went Shinigami on his Clan after one instance of child abuse, ruined four men’s lives with the thought to make them suffer, and decreed what  _ was going to happen. _ To the Clan Head’s  _ face. _

“Have they  _ lost their minds? _ They went after one of her kittens, oh dear kami-sama, why?” Kagami pressed his hands over his face, trying to deny the stupidity that was thriving in the clans. Colossus barked before throwing his head back and laughed full bellied like a human. Unlike a human, his laughter was more like the rumbling of an avalanche and thunder than anything else. “We are doomed. The whole damned village is doomed!” 

The arriving groups of both Konohagakure Police (composed entirely of Uchiha) and the Hyūga active duty (mostly Branch house with a smattering of Main house) stopped at the sight, suddenly much less fierce at seeing the state  _ The _ Uchiha Kagami was in. His less than aspiring words without actual context was frightening. 

“Oh, not so much,” muttered Colossus to the extreme shock of everyone else. “There are pups within the borders. Alpha will be generous and let them stay with their packs if the pups want, but I know she would be open to fostering more. It’s what an Alpha does, after all.” 

Kagami sighed in relief, sagging against the large beast. “Well, that’s a mild relief.” 

The horror on many a face was hilarious even as he lost some of the terror of the village he had helped build up being torn right back down. So Akio has wrecked the Hyūga. By now, they deserved it. Their history was as extensive as the Uchiha and if they blindly ignored it, it was their own fault. 

One didn’t fuck with an Alpha or risk death. If one fucked with an Alpha Bitch, well, there were craters and canyons to prove just how bad an idea that was. 

Good luck, Hyūga. 


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Moving!!!!!!!
> 
> ...
> 
> This means things are gonna be on the back burner for a little while. Enjoy this chapter while I pull out my hair!

CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO 

Akio awoke sweltering hot, wrapped in blankets and dogs and children. It was awful. She felt hungry and thirsty and feverishly hot. She  _ hurt _ like she couldn’t breathe. 

She hated the flu. And if it wasn’t? Well, she had a new hatred for an equally shitty illness. 

“You’re awake.” 

The voice was soft and scratchy, like someone had been crying and hadn’t gotten hoarse from it—yet. She turned her head to see Keiko, bruised eye, split lip, and a plethora of blades around her as she sharpened them diligently. She was as sharp as the metal in her hands and as terrifying as a volcano set to erupt. Akio appreciated that look because it meant  _ she _ didn’t have to be the badass for a while. 

“‘Wake ‘nough,” she rasped from a throat so dry it clicked when she swallowed. Water was fetched immediately, Keiko taking time to let Akio sip from the straw she had procured. Seeing as mostly only hospitals had bendy straws, Akio figured that there might have been a small raid on supplies. “Thank you, love.” 

“Of course,” Keiko replied easily enough, leaning around children and dogs to press a kiss to Akio’s sweaty brow. “How do you feel?” 

Akio sighed, grimacing as she freed one arm. It tingled with blood flow, like static trapped under skin. “Not great. Am I sick?” The thin press of pretty lips had her attention. That was definitely a no. What was going on? “Keiko, precious? Tell me. I need to know.” 

Her lips trembled, her hand finding Akio’s as Keiko knelt properly. “You… you were bleeding. They don’t know if-if the baby is okay. They can’t,” she took a breath, tears in her eyes. “You used up so much chakra. You almost aborted the baby. But your chakra won’t let them see deep enough to help.” 

That was… horrifying. And sobering. Akio forgot, for just a while, that all these cool new powers had a major drawback. She wasn’t a superhero, oh never. She was a civilian with some minor training and a kekkei genkai that caused most shinobi hives just thinking about it. She was  _ pregnant _ on top of that and she remembered the first trimester was always the worst for women, their bodies sometimes actively rejecting the fetus when stressed emotionally much less physically. 

She knew this. But.  **_But._ ** She didn’t seem to apply this to herself, like she was exempt from the heartache and the devastation this would bring not only herself but her partners. She forgot about the important parts of who she was and what she had to do. 

Looking down at Chihiro tucked tight to her side with dark smudges of sleepless nights under his eyes, she couldn’t find it in herself to be sorry. To be apologetic and sincere. Because her  _ son _ had been  _ tortured. _ Had been traumatized. Hell hath no fury as a mother unbridled with protective rage. She had been beyond fury. 

That didn’t excuse it. She would have to do better. Be better. 

She had help now, after all. 

“Who even touched you?” 

Keiko sighed, sitting back and pushing a hand through her hair. “The Hyūga main house are a bunch of big babies about their bastards. I had to let them take Chihiro. I’m so sorry, Akio, if I had just been  _ better—“ _

“They didn’t get the babies, though.” It’s stated soft and calm because Keiko’s voice was starting to rise and to be honest, Akio couldn’t not handle that. Not right now. “You didn’t let them get Hanzō or Himiko. Yes, Chihiro suffered, was tortured and traumatized, but I also know he would rush out into view if he had even a thought it would keep his siblings safe.” 

Keiko hiccuped as she started to quietly cry, Akio holding her arms up for her. Being gently pulled from the mass of bodies and into the lap of her wife in all but name, Akio appreciated the solidness of her powerful body. “I-I-I—“ 

Akio shushed her, tucking her Keiko’s head against her chin, her face in Akio’s neck as the civilian took care of her distraught wife. “Hush now, my powerful wife. You did no wrong. You did so well and I’m so proud of you. So,  _ so _ proud.” 

Keiko cried quietly, little shoulder shaking sobs ripping out in silent relief and sorrow and every emotion that had needled her heart. Akio held her through all of it, fingers in her hair, mind on every mistake. Reading all those scrolls hadn’t been for naught. There were some very old clauses in them. Some that were very relevant. Some revelations that were mind boggling just in the power she could wield. 

But. 

_ But. _

She was Ootsutsuki. The daughters of the Sage, lost to time and misogyny, had taken this name and had held it sacred. They were a different kind to the brothers but what they had become was the most comprehensive version of chakra-based abilities known to mankind. It was terrifying. But there was power there. So much power. Politically, she was on par as a second Daimyo to the Land of Fire. Or any Daimyo. Her word counted with as much weight as theirs, only she had no clout to back it up. At least, now. Also, being related to every Daimyo? Weird. 

This meant she had to be extra careful in her alliances, her name as much an anchor as a bouey. This meant every child she birthed would be in equal peril until the Clan was numerous once again. That didn’t guarantee anything, of course, but back up political might with physical might was a must. One hand going to her belly, she pressed not with her hand but her  _ self. _

The flow of energy was soothing, a twist of chakra that was as bland as unsalted fresh butter and just as smooth. Akio followed the flow to her abdomen, hovering between two bright orbs of vibrant color, the red further down and away, the orange just above her and the precious cargo she carried. Precious,  _ precious  _ cargo, bright soft lights that were barely there but healthy and warm and as curious as a kitten. She twisted between them, offering a version of a hug, feeling something in her seize with emotion. It wasn’t love, not just, it was something else, something much more fierce and dangerous. 

_ “Hello, my heart.”  _

They didn’t respond in kind, too small, too new, but she felt the return of something young and timid and soft. Opening her eyes, she knew that, whatever she had done, she hadn’t hurt her child. Or was it children? She would have to ask, of course, she wasn’t a medical professional, but whoever they were to become, she felt such devotion to them that her heart skipped a beat. 

“A beautiful smile,” cooed Keiko, her dear wife finally looking up with puffy reddened eyes and a sniffle. Akio kissed her brow, taking her hand and placing it on her belly. With a little patience, she teased Keiko into opening up her chakra and tugging her along to touch on their little one. Little ones? Their progeny. Maybe one day soon, it would be a reality. Chakra made them elementals, what’s a little gender bending, eh? 

“Of course. Always for my wife.” 

Keiko curled into her body, hand not moving as fresh tears, relieved and happy, dripped from her chin. “My Alpha. My-my wife. Mother of our pups.” 

Akio lifted her chin with her free hand, abandoning that soft hair to tease along a pretty neck. Their lips met, a tender kiss quickly morphing into something hungrier. The sounds of fake retching met their ears a moment later and Akio looked. The nest of children and dogs were mostly awake, Obito and Chihiro sharing grossed out looks. The two women shared their own look, soon giggling. It wasn’t perfect… but it was theirs. 

Akio sighed as she squirmed in her nest of blankets, futons, and pillows, bored out of her mind as she struggled through scrolls, scrolls, and  _ more _ scrolls. She had a notebook she was keeping notes in, her writing in English because she was a special kind of stupid. But also, she was tired and actually putting in effort right now just wasn’t worth it. Gnawing on the carrot she was literally craving, she dipped it again in the chili sauce before taking a big bite. Finishing it off, she grabbed a peeled banana and dipped it too. 

Those watching the spectacle flinched as she kept eating and dipping. 

“That’s so  _ gross. _ I wanna try it.” Obito was cuffed upside the head by his uncle as they sat at a table nearby, the older man teaching the boy clan secrets. Not very secretly, actually. Akio was making a lot of notes more from listening to Hot Uncle than from the scrolls. Chihiro snickered into his own notes, sitting with his sister and several younger cousins. 

That was new, by the way. Somehow, someway, there were suddenly litters of little Hyuuga babies and toddlers on her doorstep. The buildings for living quarters were getting more and more necessary, five of them going up simultaneously. That had been… uh, unexpected for her. She hadn’t ordered that many and had only stated what she had wanted to do at one point to, uh, someone. Somewhen. Somewhere. 

She also needed wet nurses. She was feeding four children on rotation and Keiko had induced lactation again between the two of them and even Hana was helping out, but they were three women with a growing collection of infants from a major clan. She kept mum about it since enough of these children had out of clan markers and she had cottoned on to what she suspected they were doing. After all, it was only the main branch that had stolen her son and forgot what she was. 

If she had a few Hyuuga women and men mysteriously getting “lost” on her property and just happened to gravitate to specific children, well. That was their business. It didn’t hurt that her new housing arrangements had individual rooms--or ways to make smaller individual rooms. For all that Traditional Housing was more work, they allowed more modification on the fly. Oh, she would have to watch that, of course, but it was but a drop in her bucket at this point. For now, she turned a deliberately blind eye to the goings on with the Hyuuga toddlers. Plausible deniability. 

Unrolling a scroll a little more, she made her way laboriously down the lines of characters. She was so out of it, she had read and bypassed an entire section before the mental translations made her sit up. Blinking, she returned to her previous point, something like anxiety taking root. “Keiko, come here. Keiko, my wife,  _ come here. _ Read this for me.” 

Keiko appeared as if from thin air, kneeling beside Akio to take the scroll and read. She paled dramatically, body losing its regal posture even as her hands tightened where they held. Ah. So she had translated that at least somewhat correctly. 

“Oh. Fuck.” Hands coming up, she rubbed her brows. “Mother, I love you, but why?” 

Keiko couldn’t do more than make an inhuman sound, eyes on Akio’s belly. Confused, Hot Uncle hesitates exactly ten seconds before coming over to see for himself. His sharingan flashed out of shock, immortalizing the team of contents in his brain even as he froze. The children shared alarmed looks before Akio sighed. 

“It’s okay, kids. It’s just adult stuff which means it’s stupid. And that I have to deal with it as the responsible one.” Warm hands covered her own and the deep scent of a lightning storm filled her lungs, the taste of ozone tripping off her tongue like a livewire. Soothing chakra bled into her from him, her shoulders relaxing. “Sakumo. I missed you.” 

With war on the horizon, Sakumo was once again in high demand. He only came home once covered in gore, the viscera enough to set Akio off and she had vomited all over his sandals. Needless to say, he bathed before coming to see her, keeping a change of clothes at ANBU headquarters. Sure, he was “only” a jounin, coming home in a skintight bodysuit that made Akio salivate and want to peel him out of it but that was neither here nor there. 

“Mmm,” he hummed into her neck as he knelt, folding around her body as his warmth flooded through her. She sighed as she relaxed, slumping into his chest. “What did you find out?” 

Akio waved her hand even as Keiko kept reading through the scroll, growing paler and paler. “Just that my biology is a mess and since I  _ am _ an Alpha Bitch, I get all the weird parts.” She paused as she thought about what she had read. “All of them.” 

He rumbled low and soothing. “Bad, then?” 

“Not terrible, anyhow,” she stated. “Not, like, happy-happy, sunshine daisy, but manageable. Each Clan has a physical or mental drawback, that’s just how it is, but mine is a bit more interesting. Like, I should be physically incapable of bearing young until twenty-one. Yet, due to being induced into lactation, my biology is doing a puberty speed run.” 

Sakumo went stiff against her and she rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop that. It’s… not as bad as the horror stories-“ 

“It’s  _ worse,” _ is hissed by Keiko. 

“It is  _ not, _ shut up. But now I know why none of the women were shinobi. Can’t be on the battlefield pregnant and unless one has a full hysterectomy. Our women are very much on the level of two-thirds of our chakra devoted to our uterus and the fetal development.” 

She waited for that to percolate before finishing it off with, “Also, every five years, I  _ have _ to pop out at least one munchkin. Glamorous. I wanted kids but I think this is a  _ wee bit _ excessive.” 

There is a bit of silence, the full weight of what Akio said settling. Was it good news? Well, it wasn’t  _ bad _ per say. Was there anything they could do? No. Akio was eighteen, in her prime for breeding as a normal woman, ahead of her clan curve, and just starting her life. She had years to deal with this, being pregnant back to back, over and over. Maybe her mother had actually had the right idea, as horrible as that was. She grimaced at the mere thought, knowing she wasn’t wrong but she also wasn’t right. It was a choice for every woman—a choice that she wouldn’t be able to make because it really was a do or die situation. 

Since when was she a broodmare? 

Fuck her life.  _ Royally. _

The intelligence division of Konoha was deathly silent. Officially, the ANBU was taken off of babysitting duty. Unofficially, they just kept a closer eye and ear on the young woman by any means necessary. It was part curiosity, intrigue, information gathering, and a quick clue as to what might set off what amounted to a smoking volcano. 

They didn’t mean to be  _ in the know _ with Clan secrets. 

“Her set of powers just gets weirder and weirder the more we know,” stated one of the desk jockies. There was a murmur of agreement, the Clan heads overseeing this very quiet in turn. It wasn’t something they had been planning to be privy to, never would they have thought they would be, but now, the old friends shared horrified looks. This was going to require a lot of monitoring for the health and safety of not only the Hamada Pack but every ward under Hamada Akio’s purview. 

(These men weren’t blind. They knew what the Branch House of the Hyuuga was doing. They approved, of fucking course, but they couldn’t come out and  _ say _ that. Still. Ancient laws and all that.) 

Inomaru sighed as his head sunk slowly to his desk. He was not ready for this. Hell, he hadn’t been ready for this since the beginning. He just hoped that maybe they would all catch a break. 


	43. Singing and lyrics, Hot&Bothered, Let’s just NOPE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been busy and tired and I’m looking for another job while trying to plan a bakery on wheels and possibly build a small tiny house cottage for the safety of my sanity. 
> 
> I am so tired, y’all.

CHAPTER FOURTY-THREE 

Two months of doing  _ nothing _ was about to drive Akio insane. She needed a hobby or something to do that wasn’t centered on kids, food, or the farm. Apparently, she needed to relax and do nothing strenuous  _ at all.  _ That meant she didn’t get to help with anything during planting, either. Damn it. 

So, she was bent over a scroll and writing in slowly evolving characters as she tried to translate Romeo & Juliet into a more “current affairs” fanfic that may or may not have lots of background homoerotic overtones making everyone but the parents and the kids very, very gay. Everyone is gay and only the het main couple dies, though the gays did get injured or seemed to vanish. Honestly, no one really wanted straight couples anymore anyway. It was a formula that was boring and dull and she was sick of the trashy novels that had been so generously given to her and now lay in a smoldering pile because. Just. No. Gross. 

Akio was a book snob and a bougie bitch about her entertainment, thank you very much. Just for kicks, the Capulets wore hanboks and hanfu, her artwork much better than her writing. The Montague were in Japanese Samurai style clothing with the mother of Romeo in a full traditional Kimono. Notes and notations were dotted throughout, the pretty little Juliet resplendent in the white and jade layers so that she looked more like the wind itself while Romeo wore deep reds and burnished orange like the embers of a flame. Smiling to herself, she forgot she was  _ writing _ the story and instead drew it, the colors transitioning through the story until Romeo was a full flame red-yellow with blue accents and Juliet was entirely a blushing white-pink not unlike sakura blossoms. 

The death scene itself had the two in dark colors, Juliet in a dark gray stormcloud print and Romeo an ashy gray, barely an ember now with poison green ribbons wrapped around their throats for symbolism. Sighing as she put her brushes down and set aside her inks, Akio smiled to herself as she looked at her handiwork. It really  _ was _ nice to sit and draw for once. Probably not very conventional in style, but the idea came through loud and clear. She sighed again because that had not been the intent of this exercise. 

“I was supposed to be  _ writing _ this out so I can get better,” she muttered aloud with a pout. “Instead, I doodle the whole story! Who is going to want to read this? It’s a mess.” Taking a deeper breath, she thumped her head to the side of the scroll and whined at her own idiocy. “Why do I not have any self-control over my own brain?” 

ADHD was a fucking nightmare, sometimes. Like, she could learn and learn well, but keeping her attention long enough to teach her academics was awful. Physical movement helped her think, to give herself something to  _ not _ focus on as she did something else. Too bad she liked drawing so much because now that’s what she did instead of writing like a sensible person learning so she could better herself. 

Ugh. She just. She needed to move. Get out. Do something.  Do her mates—

So she went and dressed herself, swaddling her frame in warmer layers and tying them lightly as her uterus took all of her middle and ballooned it out. It wasn’t a scheduled Market Day for her or anything, but if she sat here much longer, she was going to do both Hamlet and the Taming of the Shrew out of boredom and spite. Maybe even a Midnight Summer’s Dream and really fuck the storylines up because adding a little extra gay to everything had been her specialty once upon a time and now she had less fucks to give and more spite and hormones than any sane man wanted to touch with a thirty-nine and a half-foot pole. See this field? See how barren it is? That was her field of fucks and her many fucks to give. 

Okay, yeah. Time to take herself out for walkies. 

“I’m going out! I’ll be back later!” Before anyone could respond, she was trotting off. Colossus joined her after a moment, just there as if he had always been, and she reached out to scratch an ear. “Okay, sure. Come along on my boring thing.” 

They walked, her voice starting to croon as it did when she went about her business. With dirt now firm beneath her feet and her fields plowed and planted and starting to green and the bulls all but decimated and the heifers lowing in a far field, she felt accomplished enough to actually sing. Even if she hadn’t been allowed to do any of the fieldwork herself. 

_ “Share my life, take me for what I am _

_ 'Cause I'll never change all my colors for you _

_ Take my love, I'll never ask for too much _

_ Just all that you are and everything that you do,”  _ she crooned in a fair approximation of the lyrics in Japanese, knowing a few were butchered but, well, she could always switch to English. Or not. Knowing a language that no one else seemed to understand was something even she was leery to test. Her companion seemed to get even more quiet, a big shadow that stayed with her without even a huff to interrupt. 

Akio wished she could give this song the true tribute it deserved but swallowed and started on the chorus. Well, almost-chorus. 

_ “I don't really need to look very much further _

_ I don't wanna have to go where you don't follow _

_ I won't hold it back again, this passion inside _

_ Can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide,” _ was sung low and a bit off key. She loved singing but it required practice that she often didn’t truly have time for. 

_ “But don't make me close one more door _

_ I don't wanna hurt anymore _

_ Stay in my arms if you dare _

_ Or must I imagine you there _

_ Don't walk away from me _

_ I have nothing, nothing, nothing _

_ If I don't have you... you... you, you, you…” _

Tears pricked her eyes, her voice starting to smooth out. She just. Had to practice more. There was plenty of time to sing this song more than once. 

_ “You see through, right to the heart of me _

_ You break down my walls with the strength of your love  _

_ I never knew love like I've known it with you _

_ Will a memory survive, one I can hold on to… _

_ I don't really need to look very much further _

_ I don't wanna have to go where you don't follow _

_ I won't hold it back again, this passion inside! _

_ I can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide! _

_ Your love, I'll remember forever—“ _

She took a deep breath. 

_ “But don't make me close one more door! _

_ I don't wanna hurt anymore! _

_ Stay in my arms if you dare! _

_ Or must I imagine you there! _

_ Don't walk away from me! _

_ I have nothing, nothing, nothing! _

_ Don't make me close one more door _

_ I don't wanna hurt anymore _

_ Stay in my arms if you dare! _

_ Or must I imagine you there! _

_ Don't walk away from me! _

_ Don't walk away from me!” _

She gasped for breath. This was such a hard song. She wasn’t hitting all the notes and her choir teacher would be disappointed, but very few people were as talented as Whitney Houston, okay? 

_ “Don't you dare walk away from me!! _

_ I have nothing, nothing, nothing! _

_ If I don't have you, you _

_ If I don't have you, oh you…”  _

She coughed, rubbing her throat. It wasn’t exactly dry, but that song took skill to sing. Skill she did not have. Yet. Getting her breathing back to normal, a water skein was held out to her. She glanced over to see an ANBU with a crow mask, tall and well built, broad shoulders and a bum that could give the statue of David a complex. 

Pregnancy hormones were the worst. 

Clearing her throat, she went back through the song, her voice gaining strength every time she started over. It didn’t have to be perfect. It didn’t. She just wanted it to be  _ good enough _ so that she could recall the woman who had sung it. Her voice had been rich, deep, clear. It had inspired millions—no.  _ Billions _ of young musicians, artists, dancers… just. Everyone. 

It also helped keep her thoughts from wandering around in the gutter. Like the fact that she would totally mack on the gate guard with his pretty lips all plump and large hands and those  _ biceps— _ Taking a deeper breath, Akio had to remind herself that she was not a slutty ho no matter what her hormones were screaming. She was serene and calm, yes, ready for the day and tomorrow and every day. She was  _ not _ going to jump the next set of legs to strut by. 

**_Peace. Serenity._ **

A group of half-dressed, sweaty, laughing shinobi ambled by as they laughed over torn shirts and ripped pants, muscles on display and bodies graceful. Men and women, unconcerned with their lack of dress on this side of the village, one even ripping off a wrap that had been on its last legs trying to keep the wearer valiantly clothed. Akio almost turned around right then to march home and find her wife or husband and have them at her mercy. Seeing as both of them were on missions for the moment, that wasn’t an option and she swallowed a whimper. Being pregnant was making her unbearably horny and if she didn’t get some sexy-times soon, she was going to go  _ find _ her mates. 

Or pin one of the males vying for her attention to the floor and make them submit. Either or. 

_ Deep breaths—  _

Ffffffffffffffffu—she didn’t need walkies, she needed the D. She wasn’t going to get it right now so she had better get her mind out of the gutter it was living in and act like the adult woman she was. Covering her face, she whined. She wanted  _ seeeeeeeeeeeeeex. _

“Are you well, Alpha?” 

Peering at the massive beast beside her, Akio sighed. Again. Forever again. Talking animals had not been all that shocking considering the magic-like abilities of chakra. It made more sense than most of the abilities of her lovers, but to hear one of “her” dogs do so had been.  _ Eventful. _ Colossus had felt some remorse when she had burst into tears, at the very least. 

“Not entirely. I wanted to burn off some energy but now all I want…” she definitely didn’t have to finish that sentence. Her companion could easily smell the arousal even through her many layers. “I miss my mates.” 

The great dog huffed, licking his chops. “Perhaps you should have more mates. You are Alpha, Akio. It is your right.” 

She frowned, hands coming down. “That’s not how humans work, Colossus. Sex for us is not just a breeding occurrence. It is a show of comfort, trust, companionship, and often a way to release aggression without causing destructive behaviors.” She tipped her head back, thinking as her hands caressed the soft swell of her belly. “It is not always done for the correct reasons, of course. There are those who take it too far or push it too hard because sex is a pleasurable event, and even a few who use it for nefarious reasons, but actual human contact within a setting that encourages physical demonstrations of comfort or deliberate kindness are to be desired. The fact that it is a more common and acceptable human interaction than hugs or other more platonic shows of affection is a bit sad, however.” 

She was blithely unaware of her very interested audience as she set off to walk through the village. She would need money because by the time she found a vendor, she would be ravenous. She patted her sleeve. Oh. “Did I forget my purse?” 

Colossus chuckled before shaking his head as if ridding himself of water. His neck clinked like a coin machine before the bag he wore became visible. Akio bit her lip as she smiled wide, letting her lip go a moment later to giggle. Pushing her hand through his fur to pet his hide, she leaned against him as they walked. “Thank you, my valiant friend.” 

They resumed their walk around the edges, places civilians were less likely to be and definitely where shinobi would. It wasn’t that she despised most of the civilian population (even if she did) nor was it because she didn’t want to converse (because she absolutely did  _ not _ want conversation) but because this way, she got to walk without interruption and for as long as she wanted and no one would stop her. 

It had nothing to do with her being a bundle of horny. Nothing at all. Ffffffff, she was gonna  _ climb a wall, here. _ Hanging her head, she plodded on. Horny.  _ Fuck.  _

  
  


The scroll was moving. Well, no,  _ it _ wasn’t moving. The imagery  _ on _ it was moving. Kagami watched the drama unfold, head tilted as he tried to figure out  _ how _ she had managed to do that. 

“Don’t bother,” grumbled an ANBU as they stared up, prone on the floor. “I  _ watched it happen. _ It shouldn’t work. It really, really shouldn’t work.  _ But here we are.” _

Seeing as the beautiful girl was drinking poison only to start choking and die in a beautiful if terrible puddle of what looked like smoke that came from her clothing, he couldn’t help but agree that it was baffling. Chakra viable inks and paper just… did not. Do that.  _ That right there. _ That was not what they did! 

Yet,  _ here they are.  _

Rubbing his brow, the Uchiha closed his eyes. He agreed to this. Why had he agreed to this? Ah yes. An empress, a goddess in red and black, eyes a storm as she faced death and foes alike with unyielding ferocity. As it was often said, anyone that interested a Hatake was a worthy opponent. Kagami did not think this was what those people had in mind. 

“I need a drink.” 

An arm raised from the floor. “Me too. Please.” 

He sighed. Why the fuck not. “Rusted Wire. Ten minutes.” Rubbing a hand down his face as the compromised ANBU left in a swirl of leaves, he set about grabbing a money pouch from his drawer. What was his life. “Let’s hope I can drink enough to forget the madness.” 


	44. Baby Masks, Loneliness, and Def Retiring So Fuck You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE BEEN GUSHING ABOUT MY REVIEWS!!! THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY!!!! 
> 
> So if anyone wants Kagami to be added to the family with Akio, speak up! Demand it! I need twenty yes-es. Here or on discord. Which reminds me. 
> 
> [COME READ/COMMENT ON THE WEIRD THAT IS MY LIFE.](https://discord.gg/4dCN72X) Aka, the writing process. That may or may not happen.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR 

Month three has Akio growling at everyone but the kids. And pouting because her mates weren’t home, one stuck behind a desk in-village as missives came through while the other was running across the countryside with Static and Shock as companions. Kagami—aka, Hot Uncle, was also on missions but dropped by once or twice a week when he had a moment. Her ANBU were in the eaves of her house in shifts that lasted days, practically oozing exhaustion and frustration. 

The most momentous happening was that she suddenly had a small shadow that peered at her through a blank mask. In his arms was another child, equally masked and dressed, blood dripping. Akio took a deep breath through her nose because if she opened her mouth, it would be in a snarl. Okay. Okay okay okay. She had this. Temper leashed. There would be time for that later. 

“Through here,” she murmured, turning to see the older children in her care go pale and silent. She held a finger to her lips. “What do you need?” 

There never was a response but the child signaled something that had ANBU dropping from the ceiling. Akio stepped to the side, turning to the other children. “Alright. Come on. Go collect the littles and plant yourselves in one of the other buildings for a night. I’ll send dinner around.” 

The children were quick to pack up their meager belongings for the night, most bidding her a good night even as the sun hung large and heavy in the early evening sky. She knew why they were doing it so early, trying to keep to the established routine. She smiled and thought about making some cookies for her growing hoard of younglings. They were being good and so very kind to each other—they deserved a reward. 

Seeing the last of the children off, kissing the brows of each one even when a few were at that age to protest, she blew a raspberry into the cheek of the last boy until he started to laugh. Smiling at him, she pressed her lips to his crown before pushing him off the deck and into the waiting arms of an adult that had mysteriously found herself in the employ of Akio. She tipped her head in thanks, not one to ask questions. At least, not anymore. 

If she needed to know, she would. 

Turning back to the two children and the ANBU, she took a breath again. It was time to be sensible in the face of ninja nonsense. May the stars smile on her. 

Apparently, this was a test that all little faceless babies went through when Danzo wanted them docile and broken so deep that they  _ had _ to have someone think for them. Not that the child  _ said _ that, but Akio felt something like bottled loathing slick her throat like bile, burning and sickly sweet. Tasting like a corpse in her mouth. Foul, horrid man. 

She remembered this. 

Boy, did she  _ remember  _ this. 

Seething rage choked her for a moment before she took several breaths. Never mind, she needed to either fuck, be fucked, or carve a new scar into the landscape by way of her own hands. She wanted to rip Danzō Himura into itty bitty bite-sized chunks and  _ burn  _ him to ash. Scatter the ashes. What utter filth. He didn’t even count as human by her standards, low as they were. 

Ugh. 

Cleaning aggressively, Akio shooed all the dogs out. The pups were with the other children this night, two of the former(?) red light district girls held the infants, the twins with one, Kakashi with another as Chihiro, Himiko, and Obito followed along. She had nothing to fret with since she had made dinner and dessert and  _ then _ snack, the dishes were all clean and dripping in the sink, and she could contribute less than nothing to the ongoing healing and vigil of the literal child behind her. 

Tatami was pulled up, floors wiped, tatami cleaned and replaced as needed (so, all of them), futons taken out and left to air, sheets washed in the tub, wrung, hung under the eaves, wood dusted, washed, and polished, beams in the ceiling getting some tender, loving care… 

Okay, she wasn’t supposed to use chakra but also fuck you. She was furious and pregnant and lonely and she wanted her mates and hot uncle and sex and cuddles and just. She was emotionally, mentally exhausted and she needed comfort and a break. She needed to be touched and to touch and that was the crux of her problem as she sat on the ceiling and started to cry big angry-sad-lonely tears. She probably looked ridiculous, tears creeping up her brow before she laid down, sticking herself tight as she sobbed. 

She was  _ lonely.  _

Almost hot hands touched her hips, the presence familiar and comforting. Blinking awake, she stared at the ceiling beneath her. Oh. Yawning wide, she rolled over, blinking lazily at Sakumo on the floor below her as she stretched. Humming when his hands returned to her, she reached for him, letting her chakra go a little at a time until she was being held up by her mate. She slid down his body, wrapping her legs around his waist when they came down. Her belly prevented her snuggling too close but this was nice. 

“Oh, Akio,” Sakumo murmured, freshly bathed and smelling of himself, all male and wild. She crooned wordlessly, pressing her face into his neck as she settled in his arms. She missed this. He pressed his nose into her hair, cradling her as he took a deep breath, scenting her. It felt good to be a recognized pack member. “We’ve ignored you.” 

She hummed because, yes, they had. For the last two months, in fact. She missed the skin intimate touches that meant reassurance and pack almost more than she did the absolutely phenomenal sex. Said missing of sex was probably due more to the absolute bedlam her libido was in due to pregnancy hormones than any real want of it beyond the depth of intimacy it afforded her. Right now, she wanted to be held down and touched anyway she could get it, be it platonic or sensual in nature. 

He sat, careful and slow, legs folded in lotus with her in the bowl. Mostly in the bowl. Junior was taking up valuable bowl space. She almost smiled at the thought. 

Her arms slide around his neck, folding over as her face presses to his shoulder. Those almost-hot hands pressed along her waist, her legs still tight around him as if in protest of possibly being left alone. Again. 

Nothing about this dance was overly complicated and yet it’s harder than ever now to articulate her thoughts. 

“I knew,” she finally began, “what I was getting into. I knew that you would be gone much of the time.” She breathed deeply. “I just didn’t anticipate being so lonely after getting used to having my pack with me.” 

His breath hitched and she shushed him. It wasn’t his fault. Never that. It was just a luck of the draw. Or a very odd turn of the hand. In no way was she angry, just a bit lonely. 

Or a lot lonely. 

That didn’t matter. 

“You’re a very important person. You work hard for your village and I admire that in you. But… I also know where you will always end up at once you’re back. With me, with us. It’s not the best consolation sometimes, but it is one that I know is true.” She closed her eyes. “I just miss the intimacy of you, my wolf. Of the touch, the heat and power. Just as I miss Keiko. I have taken care of the children and tended to the farm as much as they let me and now I am… without.” 

_ Without _ use,  _ without _ an objective,  _ without _ a sense of accomplishment. She was little more than a haze over the earth with how useful she had become. By everyone else’s standards. Being pregnant apparently limited her to being little more than an ornamental topiary, displayed but ultimately useless. She knew this wasn’t true, but the lie felt more real than ever with everyone treating her so delicately. 

She didn’t even realize she was crying until strong, hot fingers caressed her cheek. The drought of his skin against her own dampened jaw was enough to make her realize that she was. She didn’t like to cry—it served her little purpose other than to make her sickly—but when she did cry, it was always with intense hurt buried in her breasts, ribs opened on the cage of her tender emotions. Sometimes, though very seldom, it was a cry that surprised her with the intensity of feeling. 

(Finding out about her parents was definitely one of those moments.) 

“My strong, strong Alpha,” is crooned into her hair. “I’m sorry. We should have thought more of you.” 

She shrugged. From the rumors, war was brewing. Oh.  _ Oh.  _ She sat up fast enough that only Sakumo’s intense ninja reflexes kept him from being smacked in the jaw with her head. 

“Uzushio. It still stands?” 

Sakumo went still. “Why would it not?” 

Akio looked at him, eyes red-rimmed yet determined. “I can’t go into detail, I don’t have it, but I had thought it had fallen when I was a child.” She nibbled her lip, hands balling into fists at his shoulders. “But if it still stands, there is a chance to save it. I was going to go and see if I could retrieve some text at some point, maybe learn to understand enough sealing to keep my pups safe, but…” 

But if she didn’t have to, if she could get a sealing expert, she could use that knowledge to keep her pups safe without potentially exploding herself. She wouldn’t have to muddle through blindly and hope a solution was made. She trembled with the realization that she could and would and had already changed what would happen so irrevocably that even if she were to die tomorrow, her touch would ripple outwards like a drop in a still pond. Something sharp and vindictive snarled a  _ good _ like she had been born to do naught but sow chaos. Another, larger part breathed in relief. 

Even  _ if _ she died, the future  _ wouldn’t  _ be the same. 

“Good.  _ Good. _ If nothing else, I can and will change their fate. Fuck the future, if I make it redundant—that can only be to the good for what’s  _ mine.” _

Akio was held tighter, hot hands near burning as Sakumo tucked her as close as physically possible. “Not right now.” 

She tilted her head. “No. Not right now. That requires at least one council member being forced into an early grave, the Uchiha saved from said council member while also given recognition since they have all but been cornered in their own village, and Uzushio saved from the rock and lightning out of fear and jealousy. Little steps.” She didn’t see the horror and sudden knowledge of her ANBU nor of her wolf mate, laying her head back on his shoulder. She yawned, the fugu of sleep still like cobwebs. “Mm. I’m gonna sleep now, yeah? Big things can wait until I’m not half asleep.” 

She promptly went to sleep. 

  
  


“... I am retiring.” 

“You can’t.” 

“Watch me, you lazy bastard!” 

“...” 

“I’m not even sorry.” 

“... ;_;” 

“Okay. I am a  _ little _ bit sorry. Still friends?”

“Still friends. You blond ho.” 

“... Oh. It’s on.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My marriage has been... less than stellar. So it’s taken me a while to get anything happening in my head. But, fortunately, I still have a plan. A five year, **buy my own land and build a house** plan. If I can get the funds together, I will be able to move out (again) and build myself a tiny cottage. Wish me good fortunes and best of luck.


End file.
